In 2015, we started
@EclipseVentures to back the boldest engineers building at the intersection of bits and atoms.
In 2016,
@andrewdfeldman gave us one of the clearest pitches on a long-term vision I have ever heard in my career.
"The GPU architecture is fundamentally limited for AI. We are going to build a wafer-scale chip to replace it. It will take a decade."
A decade later, here we are. IPO Day.
A few lessons I've learned from our decade as investors in Cerebras:
The most important company building happens at the earliest stages. The technical bet, the architectural choices, the key manufacturing partnerships, the first 50 people on the team — all locked in before product-market fit, before revenue, before the capital markets care. Taking the time to get these foundational elements right is what lets you move with velocity later.
Talent is a compounding asset. From day one, Cerebras was obsessed with hiring the very best people in the world. Watching Andrew and the team obsess over this was a real lesson. Seeing Pierre and Lior work with the founders to build that team taught me a lot about the role a board member should play early in a company's history. One of the most formative things I've witnessed in venture. They treated every hire like it mattered, because it did.
Reputations are forged in the hardest moments, not the best ones. The reason Andrew first pitched Eclipse tells you everything: his several decade relationship with Pierre Lamond. Pierre had been on his board at SeaMicro and stood with him through the toughest stretches of building that company. When Andrew started Cerebras, he was adamant Pierre would be involved. The reputation you build in hard moment is what people remember. This is what brings you the next deal, the next hire, the next round. This is how we try to operate at Eclipse: true partners to founders through the hardest stretches of the journey.
It doesn't matter how good your technology is if you don't land the deals. No one remembers the company with the best chip and no customers. The last 24 months at Cerebras have been a clinic in commercial execution. Andrew, the GTM team, and the board (Lior,
@ericvishria, and
@vassallo) have been on a tear. Thousands of hours on planes to all corners of the world. Late nights. Holidays away from families. Hard decisions made under real uncertainty. Never losing sight of the mission. I've never seen anything like it. Great companies need a differentiated mission and world-changing technical execution — but they also need a shit ton of grit and a refusal to quit. Cerebras has all of it.
Eclipse is proud to have been there from the seed with
@andrewdfeldman and the team. Watching Lior and Pierre steward this company for the last 10 years has been a masterclass.
Congratulations to everyone involved on reaching this milestone!