Coming Full Circle and Joining Eclipse

In 2016, I was three years into my six-year journey at Coatue Management, the global investment platform that invests in both public and private companies. Artificial intelligence and deep learning had hit an inflection point. Companies big and small were deploying larger and larger models at a rapid pace, driving an insatiable thirst for compute that would show itself in a number of ways.

One signal was the growth of Nvidia’s Data Center business, which was smashing Wall Street consensus estimates and propelling the corporation’s stock to all-time highs. Graphics processors, Nvidia’s flagship product, were being repurposed to satisfy the needs of the AI community. But with the increasing sizes and complexity of deep learning models, it became clear that a dedicated chip — designed from the ground up to handle heavy AI workloads — was needed.

This realization not only led me down an exhaustive deep dive into the world of AI and ML — and the discovery of a next-generation company — but also to the introduction of Eclipse Ventures and the people that make up the place I now call home. Eclipse and Coatue share an investment: Cerebras, the company building a new class of computer system to accelerate AI by orders of magnitude beyond the current state of the art.

While helping Coatue diligence the company, I examined the cap table because I was curious to see who else understood this transformational shift in AI compute. And that’s when I saw the name “Eclipse Ventures.” This led me to cold email the founding partner, Lior Susan, to understand what his thesis on the company was and investing in general.

After hours of vigorous white boarding on how he saw the world, we arrived at mutual and enthusiastic agreement about the many opportunities to reimagine the complex industries that underpin our daily lives. Eclipse focuses on big, multi-faceted industries and looks for founders who think at an unprecedented scale. Now, that may sound lofty, but how else would you describe entrepreneurs who want to modernize legacy global industries like manufacturing, logistics and transportation?

Semiconductor manufacturing isn’t as old as those industries. But it fits for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. As AI begins to play a role in every company’s technology stack, companies like Cerebras will produce the next generation of semiconductors.

Over the last three years, I was fortunate to engage with other members of the team, including venture industry veteran and luminary, Pierre Lamond. Venture is an apprenticeship business, and few people have passed on as much wisdom as Pierre. His work has profoundly advanced the course of the semiconductor industry, both as an operator and an investor. And although he prefers to work behind the scenes, his mentorship, guidance and judgement have influenced the lives and careers of countless engineers, entrepreneurs and investors.

Through all of my conversations with the team, three themes are now more evident than ever about who we are: First, we’re a group of hands-on company builders. Second, we share an unbridled passion for technology. And perhaps most importantly, we form a family with clear, shared human values rooted in discipline, integrity and humility. From co-investor to team member, my Eclipse journey continues, and I’m excited to get to work.

I will be focused on expanding our expertise investing in transformative technologies across supply chain, logistics, construction, industrials, agriculture, robotics, manufacturing and compute. Feel free to email me, and let's talk!