Electrical Engineer - Commercial

Arc Boat raises $50M to electrify defense vessels. 23 March 2026 Key Takeaways * Arc Boat Company raised $50 million in Series C funding to expand into defense and commercial electric vessels. * The company plans to supply electric propulsion systems rather than build all vessels itself. * Defense demand is driven by benefits like low noise, reliability, and suitability for autonomous systems. Los Angeles area startup Arc Boat Company has announced a $50 million raise, led by Vickers Venture Partners, whose Series C will help scale the company's efforts to electrify commercial and defence ships, offering a new, clean and high-performance alternative to diesel engines. When Arc was founded in 2021, the company's luxury electric sport boats were a farm team for its battery and propulsion technology. Now, the company has its sights on moving beyond recreational applications to provide electric systems for workboats, ferries and military ships. Funding backed by major investors. Eclipse Ventures led the Series C round, with investment from a16z, Menlo Ventures, Lower Carbon Capital, Necessary Ventures, and Offline Ventures. With this new raise, Arc's total investment has now climbed to $160 million, with investors clearly optimistic about the promising future of electric marine tech. Based on the statement of the company's management, the new capital will go into production scaling, an increase in the engineering team, and the acceleration of go-to-market plans in commercial and defense markets. Pivot toward defense and commercial markets. With offshore wind and airspace operating in deeper, more congested waters and at longer ranges, and with defenders and militaries having become more aware of the signals under which they operate, the push toward 'greener' vessels and electric propulsion is ongoing. Electric propulsion provides numerous benefits, including significantly lower noise signatures, lower maintenance requirements and fewer moving parts. Instead of manufacturing hulls of various designs for each application, Arc intends to sell electric powertrains and work through shipbuilders and defense contractors. The company will grow more quickly this way and will have its technology incorporated into more types of ships. The company has already shown in the commercial business, with ties to some hybrid tugboat projects, for instance, with shipyards. Industry tailwinds driving electrification. Arc's move is part of a much wider trend, one that is forcing the wider maritime industry to go electric. As regulations become tighter, the price of oil spirals, and battery technology advances, electric boats look ever more viable. Shipping is responsible for around 3% of the world's carbon emissions, and authorities all over the world are looking at tighter emissions standards. In the meantime, electric vehicles are continually advancing thanks to innovations from the motor industry in the form of lower battery costs and better performance. For commercial operators, the cost of ownership will be dramatically lowered by electric vessels with the savings in fuel and maintenance. Although operational advantages like stealth and reliability are just as persuasive for defense agencies. I'm a crypto writer with 4+ years of experience passionate about turning big, technical ideas into content anyone can understand. From blockchain to stablecoins to everything in between, I enjoy helping readers stay informed in a space that never stops moving. Disclaimer VentureBurn is a media platform covering the latest in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, venture capital, and the startup ecosystem. Opinions expressed on VentureBurn are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Before making any high-risk investments in digital assets or emerging technologies, readers should conduct their own due diligence. All transactions and financial decisions are made at your own risk, and any losses incurred are solely your responsibility. VentureBurn does not endorse or recommend the buying or selling of any digital assets and is not a licensed investment advisor. Please note that VentureBurn may participate in affiliate marketing programs.

Arc's $50M push into commercial maritime. Mar 20 2026 Spotlight. As the city pushes through a record-breaking March heat wave, one of the week's most interesting LA startup stories came with a reminder that climate tech gets a lot more real when it leaves the pitch deck and hits the water. In Arc's case, that means tugboats. LA based Arc, founded in 2021 by a team of SpaceX alumni, announced a $50M Series C this week, led by Eclipse, a16z, Menlo Ventures, Lowercarbon, Necessary Ventures, and Offline Ventures, as it pushes deeper into commercial maritime. The raise follows Arc's $160M contract with Curtin Maritime to deliver eight hybrid-electric tugboats beginning at the Port of Los Angeles, with the first expected to hit the water this year. Imsage Source: Arc That feels notable not just because of the funding, but because it marks a clear evolution in Arc's business. What started as a premium electric boat company is now making a serious push into the industrial side of maritime transportation, with ambitions spanning tugboats, ferries, and defense vessels. There is also something fitting about this story happening in Los Angeles. This is a city known for spectacle, but Arc is building in a category where performance actually has to perform. No amount of branding can fake a working tugboat, and that is exactly why this moment feels worth paying attention to. Now, onto this week's LA venture deals, fund announcements and acquisitions. Venture deals. LA Companies * Talino closed a $7.5M Series A led by Chemonics International, with participation from Mt Sinai Capital and Gulf Blvd, as it shifts from a venture studio into what it calls a global fintech foundry. The company said the new funding will help build an API-first cross-border payments infrastructure layer connecting the U.S. with emerging markets, starting with the Philippines, where it is targeting faster, more compliant financial product launches and modernizing legacy rails with stablecoin and real-time payment capabilities. - learn more * PADO AI raised a $6M seed round led by NovaWave Capital to expand its AI-powered orchestration software for mid-market colocation data centers. The company said the funding will support product delivery and global growth as it helps operators better manage power, compute, cooling, and distributed energy resources to increase GPU utilization and maximize "compute per megawatt" without requiring major new infrastructure buildouts. - learn more * Meadow Memorials raised a $9M Series A led by Lachy Groom and Haystack to expand its software-enabled funeral planning platform, which lets families arrange services online or by phone. Founded in 2024 by former Stripe executive Sam Gerstenzang and Emma Gilsanz, the company says it is using a real-estate-light model to offer lower-cost funerals as it expands beyond California into states including Texas, Washington, and Arizona. - learn more LA Venture Funds * Anthos Capital participated in Bluesky's $100M Series B, which was led by Bain Capital Crypto and also included Alumni Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Knight Foundation, and True Ventures. The company said the round gave it the resources to scale both the Bluesky app and the broader AT Protocol ecosystem, which it says has grown to more than 43 million users and now supports a fast-expanding network of third-party apps and developers. - learn more * Navigate Ventures participated in VerbaFlo's oversubscribed $7M seed round, which was led by Pi Labs and also included Haatch and Old College Capital. VerbaFlo said it plans to use the funding to scale its conversational AI platform for real estate operators, building on traction across more than 200,000 units and expanding further into markets including the U.S., Middle East, and Australia. - learn more * March Capital participated in Xage Security's $15M equity financing round, which was led by Piva Capital as the company posted 81% year-over-year revenue growth and expanded its Zero Trust platform for AI and critical infrastructure. Xage said the funding, which closed in December 2025, will support go-to-market expansion and continued product innovation, including new AI security capabilities, as demand grows across sectors such as energy, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and defense. - learn more * B Capital led Knox Systems' $25M Series A, backing the company's push to scale what it says is the largest AI-managed federal cloud and dramatically shorten the FedRAMP authorization process for software vendors. Knox said the new funding will help accelerate growth after its June 2025 seed round, with the goal of helping customers achieve FedRAMP authorization in as little as 90 days at roughly 90% lower first-year cost, while expanding adoption across both government and commercial environments. - learn more * WndrCo participated in Tenkara's $7M round, which was led by True Ventures as the company builds AI-powered operations agents for American manufacturers. Tenkara said it is creating tooling to help factories handle sourcing and operational work more efficiently at a time of rising supply-chain pressure, with backing from a broader investor group that also included Articulate Capital, Night Capital, HF0, SF1, and Transpose Platform. - learn more * Aurora Capital participated in Niv-AI's $12M seed round, backing the startup alongside Glilot Capital, Grove Ventures, Arc VC, Encoded VC, and Leap Forward as it emerged from stealth. Niv-AI is building sensors and software to measure millisecond-scale GPU power surges and help data centers use electricity more efficiently, with plans to deploy its system in a handful of U.S. facilities within the next six to eight months. - learn more * Clocktower Technology Ventures participated in Fuse's $25M Series A, which TechCrunch reported was led by Footwork, Primary Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, and Commerce Ventures, with Fuse also naming Clocktower Ventures among its backers. The company said it plans to use the funding to expand its AI-native loan origination and account opening platform for credit unions, building on traction with more than 100 customers and a $5M "rescue fund" aimed at helping institutions switch off legacy systems. - learn more * Kairos Ventures participated in Alomana's €4M seed round, which was led by CDP Venture Capital and also included Founders Factory, Italian Angels for Growth, Club degli Investitori, and others. Alomana said it will use the funding to strengthen its enterprise AI platform, add more capabilities for autonomous workflow automation, and support larger deployments across Europe as demand grows in sectors like finance, manufacturing, and pharma. - learn more * Optimal's Entertainment Media division is being acquired by Capstone Point Holdings, with the business set to operate under its legacy name, Optimad Media, following the deal. The transaction keeps founder Kevin Weisberg in place to lead the company from Los Angeles, while giving Optimad more backing to expand its entertainment media planning, buying, and prints-and-advertising investment capabilities across theatrical, streaming, and broadcast campaigns. - learn more

Arc Boat Company has raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Eclipse, with participation from a16z, Menlo Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Necessary Ventures and Offline Ventures. The Los Angeles startup plans to expand into electric commercial boats and defense propulsion systems whilst maintaining its consumer sport boat business. Founder Mitch Lee said strong organic interest from commercial and defense sectors accelerated expansion plans. For commercial applications, Arc will design boats and partner with shipyards, similar to its hybrid tugboat project with Curtin Maritime. In defense, the company will supply electric propulsion systems to contractors seeking autonomous watercraft capabilities. Arc has grown to approximately 200 employees and expects to hire more for production, engineering and commercial go-to-market teams following the fundraise.