# Mitch Lee

> Mitch Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Arc, the Los Angeles marine-technology company trying to make everything that floats electric. A Bay Area kid raised on the California Delta, he trained as a mechanical engineer at Northwestern, analyzed Apache helicopter rotor blades at Boeing, then spent years in software - founding Penny, which was acquired by Credit Karma - before reuniting with his old Boeing and Northwestern classmate Ryan Cook, a former SpaceX lead engineer, to build electric boats in 2021. Arc has raised more than $150 million, ships its Arc Sport wake boat and Arc Coast center console from a 150,000-square-foot LA factory, and in 2026 pushed into commercial and defense propulsion with a $50M Series C and a $160M tugboat contract for the Port of Los Angeles.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Arc
- **Organizations:** Arc (Arc Boat Company), Penny, Credit Karma, Boeing
- **From:** San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Bellarmine College Preparatory, BS in Mechanical Engineering and Economics, Northwestern University, Study Abroad, University of Melbourne, Startup accelerator, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Arc, which has raised more than $150 million in total funding, Scaled Arc from a first delivered customer boat to producing multiple boats per week at a 150,000-square-foot Los Angeles factory with 100+ employees, Brought three fully electric consumer boats to market: the Arc One cruiser, Arc Sport wake boat, and Arc Coast center console

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Graduated Northwestern with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Economics
- **2011** — Joined Boeing as a stress analyst on Apache (AH-64) composite rotor blades in Mesa, Arizona, working alongside future Arc co-founder Ryan Cook
- **2015** — Founded Penny, a personal-finance software startup
- **2017** — Went through Y Combinator
- **2019** — Penny acquired by Credit Karma; Lee worked in software for several years in the Bay Area
- **2021** — Co-founded Arc with Ryan Cook (former SpaceX lead engineer); unveiled the Arc One electric cruiser
- **2021** — Raised a $30M Series A led by Eclipse Ventures
- **2023** — Raised a $70M Series B from Menlo Ventures, Eclipse, Andreessen Horowitz, Lowercarbon Capital and Abstract Ventures
- **2024** — Launched the Arc Sport electric wake boat
- **2025** — Launched the Arc Coast electric center console
- **2026** — Raised a $50M Series C and signed a $160M contract with Curtin Maritime for eight hybrid-electric tugboats at the Port of Los Angeles; expanded into commercial and defense propulsion

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Arc, which has raised more than $150 million in total funding
- Scaled Arc from a first delivered customer boat to producing multiple boats per week at a 150,000-square-foot Los Angeles factory with 100+ employees
- Brought three fully electric consumer boats to market: the Arc One cruiser, Arc Sport wake boat, and Arc Coast center console
- Signed a $160M contract to deliver eight hybrid-electric tugboats to the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere
- Founded Penny, a fintech startup acquired by Credit Karma
- Attracted investment from Andreessen Horowitz, Eclipse Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital and celebrity backers including Will Smith, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Sean Combs

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Arc closed a $50M Series C from Eclipse, a16z, Menlo Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Necessary Ventures and Offline Ventures to expand into commercial and defense electric propulsion.
- **2026-03** — Announced a $160M contract with Curtin Maritime to deliver eight hybrid-electric tugboats, the first expected on the water at the Port of Los Angeles that year.
- **2025-05** — Launched the Arc Coast, a 24-foot electric center console priced at $168,000.

## Links

- Website: https://arcboats.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchjlee
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dontmitch
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLEaYgyGvWg
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ArcBoats/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mitch-lee
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01