It Can’t Be Done

It’s impossible. You can’t do it. Do something else. History is full of world-changing inventions and achievements made by people who were told these phrases over and over again. Rocket ships. Vaccines. The printing press. The light bulb. As long as people have been trying to change the world, there have been people telling them it can’t be done. They do it anyway. They risk reputation and resources to bring their vision into reality because for them, failure is not the worst outcome — worse is stagnation simply because testing the limits of technology, science, infrastructure, and human ingenuity are deemed too hard. Worse is not seizing an opportunity to strengthen our economic prosperity and national security just because we’re afraid to try. Each great leap forward is driven by those who imagine a better future and fiercely defend their vision by building it, no matter how strong the pushback, nor how lofty the goal. Groundbreaking achievements, from the combustion engine to the search engine, were never impossible — they just needed people who had the gumption to build them into existence. They said it wasn’t possible for man to fly. Four years later the first airplane took flight. They said it wasn’t possible for humans to go to outer space. Within 8 years, they walked on the moon. They said it wasn’t possible to build a computer that could fit on a desk, or in your bag, or in your pocket, let alone on your wrist. Not only did these feats all happen, but each milestone happened in increasingly faster cycles than the one before. They said it wasn’t possible to mass produce an electric car, digitize the human genome, build reusable space rockets, or bring robots to life with AI. All of this was possible.

All of these iconic examples are defiant rebuttals to claims that “it can’t be done.” Some people hear these words and know that it just hasn’t been done yet. We’re living in the new golden age of industrial innovation. After decades of under-investment, there is now a unified force of entrepreneurs, public and private investors, and government entities dedicated to the modernization of physical sectors. We’re where we are today thanks to the trailblazing work of bold thinkers who didn’t wait to get to work until the need to rebuild the real world was no longer an option. They harnessed the convergence of technological advancement and raw talent to transform the industries that form the basis of our economy. Just like outlier technology of earlier eras, their milestones represent a step change in productivity and GDP growth, and have inspired the next wave of progress. These pioneering builders have always needed believers. The ability to tune out the doubters isn’t enough — you also need a circle of people who share your conviction and will go to battle with you to prove it. Eclipse is a team of believers, because we’re builders too. We’ve built cars, trucks, watches, robots, and factories. Most importantly, we’ve built companies. We experienced the impact of decades of underinvestment and lack of innovation firsthand, and envisioned a future where we had turned that decline around. We saw that while the challenges to get there were great, the opportunities to overcome them were even greater: technological advancements like cloud computing, AI, robotics, automation, and 3D printing, plus a growing pool of talent and burgeoning policy shifts towards rebuilding our industrial base. We also know what it feels like to be doubted. When we started Eclipse 10 years ago specifically to back founders in physical sectors, we heard plenty of skepticism: “It can’t be done. It’s impossible to build generational companies in physical sectors. You’ll never make any money. Invest in something else.” We did it anyway. The strength of our physical industries is inextricably tied to national security and independence, but these sectors were starting to become our liability. The dire consequences of not changing that trajectory — and the tailwinds that made it possible to do so — eclipsed any level of doubt that it was a worthy pursuit.

Most importantly, the next generation of iconic innovators had this same conviction and were starting to build. Of course, they were doubted. While builders of enterprise SaaS and consumer apps had legions of believers — and ample capital — founders who wanted to reinvent and rebuild physical industries were told it couldn’t be done. Yet, as the stakes rose higher, the problems ran deeper, and the solutions became more complex, the excuses for not doing something about it had become more mundane: “It’s too expensive. It takes too long. It’s a hassle to work with the government.” They did it anyway. They said you couldn’t build chips powerful enough to deliver AI at scale. Cerebras solved the 70-year-old computational problem of wafer scale integration, developed the world’s biggest and fastest processor, and is powering the AI revolution.

They said you can’t apply a startup mindset and timelines to aerospace and defense. True Anomaly, Ursa Major, and Blue Water Autonomy are collaborating directly with the government to rapidly strengthen our nation’s security with AI-powered satellites, advanced propulsion systems, and autonomous ships.

They said you can’t bring back manufacturing to the United States. Bright Machines, VulcanForms, and Augury are proving them wrong with software-driven, robotic microfactories, additive metals manufacturing, and AI to improve production operations.

They said you couldn’t electrify boats. Arc is on its third generation of 100% battery-powered watercraft and is on a mission to electrify the entire marine industry. This summer, the company will deliver its first electrified tugboat — the workhorse of the ports — for use in the Port of Los Angeles.

Together, we are building the world for a better tomorrow. We want to live in a world where the roads are safer because autonomous driving technology is there to step in when human drivers are tired, get lost, or forget to look over their shoulder. We want to live in a world where heart disease isn’t the #1 killer, but an easily treatable condition thanks to robotic surgery. Where cures for devastating diseases are available to everyone because we’ve used AI to revolutionize the process of drug discovery, development, and distribution. Where “forever chemicals” don’t actually last forever because the technology exists to destroy them and put contaminated land back to use. Where we aren’t vulnerable to complete chaos if there is a supply chain disruption because we have the tools to easily design, build, test, and assemble any product we need. Where we don’t fear our adversaries because we have the defense capabilities that are so formidable, so intelligent, and so adaptable that no one would even consider attacking us.

Of course there will be people who will say this can’t be done. But as Eclipse enters our second decade of investing and building in the revitalization and reinvention of physical sectors, we’re joined by a growing army of believers, from the federal government and general public to the widening pool of talent and investors. It’s an uncommon moment of alignment, and demands a response of equally uncommon scale. We’re living in one of the most consequential moments in human history. Those who want to change reality? Come build with us. Those who don’t believe it’s possible? We can’t wait to prove you wrong. Follow Eclipse on LinkedIn or sign up for Eclipse’s Newsletter for the latest on building the New Economy.