Electric boat maker Arc raises $70M Series B
The limited edition Arc One electric sport boat. Photo: Courtesy of Arc.
Electric boat maker Arc has closed on a $70 million Series B round to develop and produce its next generation of electric watercraft.
Why it matters: Thanks to low-cost, high-energy batteries, power boats can now electrify the same way as cars and trucks.
Details: Arc said existing investor Eclipse led the round, which closed in June, and also included investors Andreessen Horowitz, Lowercarbon Capital and Abstract Ventures.
- New investor Menlo Ventures joined, and Menlo's Shawn Carolan will join Arc's board as a board observer.
Catch up quick: Arc previously launched its first electric boat, the Arc One, a limited-edition (no more than 20) $300,000 model, which was a tool to bootstrap into the mass market.
What's next: The LA-based startup, founded in 2021, is now accepting reservations for a mass-produced electric "wake-sport boat," but is only sharing limited details.
- The company plans to open a new 150,000-square-foot factory in Torrance, Calif., later this year.
Big picture: Battery-powered boats could have a range of benefits over gas-powered ones.
- "They're quiet, they don't have the fumes coming off of them, you don't need to winterize them, they're way cheaper to operate," Arc CEO Mitch Lee says.
Thought bubble: Many climate-tech startups have been struggling to raise Series B rounds as funding has coalesced around early-stage and much later stage for breakout companies.
- Funding is bifurcating around the "haves" and "have nots."
Editor's note. This story was updated to remove details about the wake-sport boat that were erroneously added in the prior version.
