Seatrec CEO Dr. Yi Chao and Team Celebrate a Prosperous New Year with $1 Million Loan from American Lending Center (ALC), Secured by the State Small Business Credit Initiative.
Seatrec Achieves Milestone with $1 Million State Loan Guarantee from American Lending Center
In a significant development for American Lending Center (ALC), the organization secures its first state loan guarantee, amounting to $1 million, marking a departure from its previous engagements with federal programs, as highlighted by John Shen, ALC’s founder and CEO. The funding, guaranteed by the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), originates at the federal level but is administered by the state.
This financial boost represents a pivotal advancement for Seatrec, a Climate Tech startup, positioning it for eligibility in the Climate Tech Finance Program. To achieve certification as a Climate Tech startup, Seatrec underwent a rigorous evaluation led by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) Climate Tech Finance Team. The assessment focused on quantifying the carbon emission reduction facilitated by Seatrec’s clean and renewable energy solution powering subsea robots. BAAQMD’s evaluation affirmed that Seatrec’s solution is not only cost-effective but also sustainable.
Seatrec stands as one of the pioneering tech startups to qualify for the Climate Tech Finance loan guarantee program administered by the State of California.
Dr. Yi Chao, Seatrec’s founder and CEO, expressed the critical role this funding plays in the company’s growth operations for 2024. The support will be directed towards sales and production of their innovative product, the infiniTE™ float, launched in 2023. Chao outlined the ambitious goals for scaling sales and production, with the funding earmarked for advanced inventory purchases and manufacturing process improvements.
Founded in 2016 by Dr. Yi Chao, who previously worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Seatrec’s core technology converts temperature differences in the ocean into electricity, providing sustainable energy for subsea robots. The infiniTE™ float, with applications in hurricane forecasting, soundscape monitoring, and seafloor mapping, garnered significant interest, leading to multiple six-figure purchase orders from universities and the U.S. Navy in 2023.
Sunstone Management played a pivotal role in Seatrec’s journey, starting pre-seed investments in late 2020 and concluding three funding rounds. Sunstone’s Development Department facilitated Seatrec’s connection to ALC and the Climate Tech Finance Program, part of the State of California Infrastructure and Development Bank (iBank). ALC, certified as a lender for the SSBCI program in 2022, included the state Small Business Loan Guarantee Program in the finance package.
ALC’s headquarters in Irvine, coupled with a strategic partnership with the Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County, were instrumental in completing the loan guarantee, as noted by Scott Thompson, ALC’s Vice President and Chief Lending Officer.
The loan program, offering an 80% guarantee through the state iBank, enhances accessibility for borrowers by providing reimbursement of up to 80% of the original loan if repayment becomes challenging.
John Shen emphasized the importance of great partnerships in making this capitalization possible, highlighting the collaboration between a private company, ALC, and the government to support a high-tech entrepreneur—an underlying principle for both American Lending Center and Sunstone Management.
About Seatrec
Seatrec designs and manufactures oceanic robots and energy harvesting platforms that generate electricity from naturally occurring temperature differences in ocean waters. This renewable energy can power oceanographic research equipment such as floats, gliders, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), resulting in the most scalable, cost-effective deep ocean data collection possible. Seatrec originated at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology and was incorporated by CEO Dr. Yi Chao in 2016. Learn more about us at www.seatrec.com and follow us on @seatrecinc.
About American Lending Center: A Financial Times (FT) Americas’ Fastest Growing Company
American Lending Center (ALC) is a private nonbank lending institution and nationally recognized leader in small business lending. By the end of September 2023, ALC has fully financed senior loan products to 90 qualified EB-5 projects in 13 states, contributing to a combined construction and business expansion budget of over $1.5 billion. ALC’s lending practice has successfully created more than 15,000 new jobs nationwide since 2009. In 2022, ALC launched its new rural construction and development fund with capital available for construction of fixed assets of all types in rural areas including manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, hospitality, specialty use, multi-use and other project types.
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About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital management firm with headquarters in Southern California that provides a range of early-stage venture capital, real estate, and fixed income funds to qualified and accredited investors. The firm delivers new and exciting options for economic growth through innovative public-private partnerships, making use of its unique experience across government, education, and private sectors. Identified by Financial Times as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row. In the second quarter of 2023, PitchBook ranked Sunstone the seventh most active early-stage venture capital firm in the country, and 18th overall.