Eclipse's Jiten Behl thinks the next unicorns won't be built in software

What It Covers

Jiten Behl, Eclipse Ventures partner and former Rivian Chief Growth Officer, explains why the next generation of unicorns will emerge from physical world companies rather than software. He covers how shortened product cycles, AI-enabled automation, and deglobalization are creating venture-scale opportunities in manufacturing, mobility, and industrial sectors.

Key Questions Answered

• •Physical World Opportunity Scale: 80% of global GDP exists in the physical world, yet venture capital has concentrated on a small software subset. Physical world companies can generate larger economic impact and returns, as demonstrated by generational companies built around tangible products versus purely digital services.
• •Founder Profile Requirements: Building physical world companies requires founders who balance hyper-optimism with realism about capital needs and timelines. Unlike software where recent graduates can build unicorns, hardware founders need experience navigating multiple product cycles to understand supply chain, manufacturing, regulatory, and logistics challenges that create valleys of death.
• •Vertical Integration Strategy: Modern hardware startups should selectively vertically integrate only where differentiation exists. With mature EV supply chains now available, companies can avoid the capital-intensive full vertical integration that Tesla and Rivian required. Building every component at subscale makes products economically unviable and extends timelines unnecessarily.
• •Automation Economics Thesis: US reindustrialization over the next 15-20 years requires replacing human labor with AI-powered automation to compete without Chinese labor costs and subsidies. Companies must aggressively deploy intelligent machines with human-level dexterity at fractional cost. This requires massive investments in compute infrastructure and energy transformation to enable scaled automation.
• •Product Development Acceleration: Technology tools and simulation capabilities now shorten hardware development cycles significantly. Tesla took nine to ten years to launch three vehicle platforms. Rivian launched truck, SUV, and van in six years. Current startups can move faster with better simulation, testing, and quality control tools, reducing capital requirements and risk profiles.