Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
I didn’t go CES 2025 With the goal of soaking in the cold January waters of Lake Mead. But when I discovered that Los Angeles-based boat startup Arc was bringing a new sports boat to Las Vegas, I thought it was worth the risk. it happened
The Arc Sport was a joy to ride, even for a 30-minute ride on a choppy lake. It maneuvered like a heavy jet ski—the weight helped it feel stable. I have driven many heavy duty electric cars, trucks and SUVs. In this situation, I was glad, if only a little under us.
Like his boats, the Arc moved quickly as a starter. arcfounded by former SpaceX engineers, It came out secretly in 2021 With support from Andreessen Horowitz and Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital. A few months later, Eclipse Ventures raised a $30 million Series A round led by partner and former Tesla CEO Greg Reichov. Startup ships first $300,000 Arc One boats in early 2023, raises another 70 million dollars that yearand began work on the $258,000 Arc Sport.
In keeping with this pace, Arc delivered its first Sports boat to a customer late last year. It’s a “really fast-paced growth cycle,” founder and CEO Mitch Lee told TechCrunch as we walked around Lake Mead. And that was only possible, according to Arc Lee, because he took the time to learn how to build a limited-run One boat before moving on to something with a little more mass appeal.
“For us, the Arc One was that (Tesla) Roadster. The first step was to produce this boat. Let’s do it on a small scale and find out what it’s like to have these boats in the field with customers,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch in November. “Now our boats go through hurricanes. We launch boats in 95 degree water. These learnings are incredibly valuable.”
When I arrived, Lee was shivering in the winter breeze by Lake Mead, but clearly still happy to show off the Arc Sport and what it can do. We got on board and got into the water.
This is an impressive boat before you hit the throttle. The fit and finish on the boat I piloted, which is technically still a production car, was remarkable, especially since CES isn’t known as a venue for polished prototypes.
Although there are elements that may surprise people. There was a Tesla-style horizontal touchscreen, smart, fluid software that didn’t scream “legacy maker.” A second screen behind the steering wheel showed speed, battery level and the view from the forward-facing camera.
The Sport is quieter than a regular gas cruiser. Not silent. I could still hear the engine running under our feet; but it was easy to hear Lee, his two co-workers and another journalist on board. It was no stronger than the wind and the sound of the wake being thrown behind us – a distinguishing feature of Arc boats compared to many other hydrofoil-based electric boat startups.
When you combine that with the other quality-of-life improvements the Sport offers over some other gas competitors — such as smog-free, over-the-air rugged software, twin engines that make turning and parking the boat easy, a hardtop that comes down for protection from the elements, and no winterization required — it makes sense why water sports enthusiasts might pay a premium for this boat.
Boats are not necessarily difficult to handle. The real learning curve comes from knowing how to move and behave in the water. Driving the Sport on empty Lake Mead wasn’t difficult, even in choppy waters. Put your hand on the wheel, lift the throttle lock and push it forward for 500 horsepower of fun.
A 226kWh battery pack kept the boat planted while also helping the relatively short 23-foot frame turn quickly when I turned the wheel. These turns were the most fulfilling part of the wind and chops experience. Of course, we got hit by a wave, spraying us with the icy blue water that the Colorado River fed Lake Mead.
It was worth it though. Everyone should be able to have this much fun.
On the way back to the dock, it was hard not to notice that Lake Mead was running out while getting a towel. A strong combination of seemingly endless drought and human activity has reduced the reservoir to just 27% of its total capacity. NASA. In every direction I could see where the water line was, a popular phenomenon is referred to like a “bathroom ring”.
This directly affected boaters who used the lake for recreation – exactly the type of people Lee wanted to sell to. Lake Mead has had to close several boat launches and ramps in the past few years. According to the National Park Serviceand expand the rest to reach the newer, lower level of the lake.
I didn’t ask him if the evaporation of freshwater lakes was a risk to Arc’s target market – that’s something I’m sure I’ll bring up next time. What I do know is that Lee said his goal is to have every watercraft go electric. That includes looking beyond power sports, perhaps into government and defense — an idea that seed investor Andreessen Horowitz is loving these days.
When Lee was asked about it in November, he demurred but left the door open.
“We can’t get distracted too early because if we do, we’ll fail as a company,” he said. “The reason we’ve developed Arc Sport so quickly is because of the work we’ve done on Arc One. I could go into this long list of all transmission and IP, but the same goes for going commercial, entering public sectors and our ambitions as a business. We are not ready to discuss anything there yet.”
