Eclipse Ventures raised a $1.3 billion fund to invest in startups focusing on physical AI [1].

This investment signals a strategic shift toward integrating artificial intelligence with the physical world. By targeting robotics and autonomous systems, the firm aims to move AI beyond digital interfaces and into manufacturing and infrastructure.

Lior Susan, co-founder and managing partner of Eclipse Ventures, said the strategy during a StrictlyVC event in San Francisco. The firm is positioning itself to capitalize on an emerging era where AI drives physical automation [1].

The capital is divided into two distinct pools to support different stages of company growth. Eclipse Ventures allocated $591 million to an early-stage incubation fund [1]. This portion of the capital is designed to build and back new startups from the ground up.

The remaining $709 million is dedicated to growth-stage companies [1]. These funds will support existing firms that have already demonstrated scalability in the physical AI sector.

The firm's investment focus includes robotics, manufacturing, and autonomous systems [1]. It also includes AI infrastructure, which provides the underlying hardware and software necessary for physical AI to operate [2].

This approach allows the firm to manage risk across the startup lifecycle. By combining incubation with growth capital, Eclipse Ventures can shepherd a company from its initial concept through to large-scale industrial application [1].

“Eclipse Ventures raised a $1.3 billion fund to invest in startups focusing on physical AI.”

The allocation of over $1 billion toward 'physical AI' reflects a broader venture capital trend moving away from purely generative software and toward 'embodied AI.' By splitting the fund between incubation and growth, Eclipse Ventures is attempting to control the entire pipeline of industrial automation, from the creation of new hardware to the scaling of established robotics infrastructure.