Arc expands into electric commercial and defense boats with $50M raise | TechCrunch

Last day to exhibit your breakthrough to 10,000+ tech leaders at Disrupt is on Oct 2. Book Exhibit Table Now. Disrupt doors open Oct. 13. Get your pass and bring someone with you at 50% off. REGISTER NOW. Los Angeles startup Arc Boat Company wants to expand its nascent commercial business and even sell electric propulsion systems to defense contractors, in an attempt to fulfill founder Mitch Lee’s desire to “electrify everything on the water.” To do that, Arc has raised $50 million in a Series C funding round from Eclipse, a16z, Menlo Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Necessary Ventures, and Offline Ventures. The expansion into these newer markets won’t come at the expense of Arc’s consumer boat business, Lee told TechCrunch in an interview. He said sport boats are a category that generates “meaningful revenue” for Arc, and helps prove to commercial customers that the company’s technology is both capable and durable. It’s a plan that roughly approximates how Tesla got started, and one that Greg Reichow — a former VP at Tesla and a general partner at Eclipse — said can work for Arc. “The right strategy was go develop the technology, get it to work on the high end of consumer boats, the