For decades, capital and talent flowed toward software. Meanwhile, China quietly built a $20T economy by doing one thing exceptionally well: owning global manufacturing and its supply chains. Now, the pendulum is swinging back.
In this episode, Lior Susan (Founder & CEO of Eclipse) makes a bold case: manufacturing isn’t just another sector, it’s the backbone of GDP, national security, and long-term wealth creation. He explains why the next generation of billion-dollar companies will be built in the physical world, not just software.
For the first time in decades, five forces are aligning at once: capital, policy, talent, customer demand, and technology, creating what Lior calls the best moment in history to start a manufacturing company in the US.
Inside the episode:
Why no one wanted to invest in physical industries, despite them being the largest part of global GDP
The cultural shift that made software “cool” and manufacturing “invisible”
How China scaled from ~$200B to ~$20T GDP by dominating supply chains
The 5 forces now aligning to bring manufacturing back
Why it’s now 20x cheaper to start a manufacturing company than a decade ago
How founders can build production lines for under $10M (vs $200M before)
The rise of $1B+ contracts within 30 months of company formation
Robotics reality check: why humanoids might be overrated
Watch Full Episode on YouTube:
About Lior Susan
Lior Susan is a proponent of a tech-native industrial base to drive U.S. competitiveness and resilience: as a Founder and CEO of Eclipse, he partners with entrepreneurs transforming critical physical industries. Eclipse was born from his experience first in the military, then building and scaling technology companies, before leading hardware investments at Flex, where he experienced both the challenges and opportunities facing global industrial systems. Driven by the belief that digital transformation is essential to economic and national security, Lior founded Eclipse to help build a more resilient economy.
Connect with Lior Susan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/liorsusan/
Connect with Nilanjana Bhowmik:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilanjanabhowmik/
Converge VC Website:
https://converge.vc/
