Brownsville – The New Silicon Valley of Space
Today, the City of Brownsville, in conjunction with Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC), held a press conference to announce their newest partner in Brownsville’s expanding space community – 9Point8 Capital, which is a group of companies that supports the space industry with end-to-end financial products.
J. Brant Arseneau, founder of the company, stated that 9Point8 Capital’s vision is to support space companies from their earliest to latest stages, with private equity to public credit, for investment capital to working capital. After nearly 25 years on Wall Street, Arseneau decided to chase his lifelong dream of being a part of the growing commercialization of the space industry and a new founded movement called NewSpace.
Arseneau is building companies that currently include the advisory group, 9Point8 Capital – a public capital raising platform, Spaced Ventures – a venture fund, Gravity Management, and a soon to be launched incubator and hatchery, 10MK.
As part of this partnership in Brownsville, 9Point8 Capital will build a local back-office team to support their global financial infrastructure and locate their incubator and hatchery within the city. Additionally, Arseneau announced that 9point8 Capital is creating a Space Scholarship Fund that will be available for students in Brownsville who attend the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley.
During the press conference, Arseneau, who was recently appointed as a space ambassador for the Canadian Space Agency, mentioned that after architecting the group of companies, he overlayed a geographical strategy that would create a global financial infrastructure that brought 9Point8 closer to their clients and investors. In turn, this led them to identify Brownsville as a key location in the growing space industry in the United States, as well as internationally.
On the company’s arrival, Mayor Trey Mendez stated,
“The City of Brownsville is thrilled to support 9Point8, so they can help provide the financial infrastructure to both early and late-stage space companies that are finding a home in our region. As the home of the SpaceX launch site and many other space companies, Brownsville, Texas, is the future of the space industry in the United States and becoming an important part of a larger global industry, and this company fits what we are trying to do in Brownsville to foster the NewSpace ecosystem.”
Adding to this, Helen Ramirez, Executive Director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, as well as Deputy City Manager for Brownsville, added:
“9point8’s arrival to the City of Brownsville reinforces one of our main pillars – Economic Development. We want to develop a sustainable economy through businesses like these, and 9point8 will not only create employment opportunities, but these 10 million dollars in Venture Capital will impact our community’s access to education, as well as attract other businesses in this industry, allowing us to position ourselves as leaders in the space industry.”
Speaking on the selection of Brownsville as their new site, Arseneau, said,
“We are excited to locate a key part of our operations within the City of Brownsville. This city is quickly becoming an important location within the space industry and because we consider our relationship with our clients and investors to be paramount in helping them succeed, we need to be located near them — which includes being right here in Brownsville.”
Brownsville is often considered the third city for space after Cape Canaveral and Houston in the U.S. and is well on its way to becoming the Silicon Valley of Space because of its ties with SpaceX. Their innovative agile approach to the space industry is considered more effective than what traditional space companies have seen in the past. Additionally, the city continues to attract space companies to the region, and with the addition of 9Point8, it adds local financial infrastructure to help these companies grow.
For more information or to schedule media interviews, please contact the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation at (956)561-4133 or hramirez@greaterbrownsville.com.
About 9Point8 Capital
9Point8 Capital is an advisory firm dedicated to the space industry, which addresses the need for a specialized partner that deeply understands both finance and the industry of space. Based in New York, Brownsville and Toronto, the company aims to be the space industry’s premier global financial partner. The company is strongly committed to building long-lasting client relationships by generating value for their individual, institutional and corporate clients. Learn more at their website.
About Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is located at the southernmost tip of Texas, and it is the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley, with a population of approximately 200,000. It is the second most historic city in the Lone Star State, making it rich in history and unique in beauty, with over 70 miles of resacas (oxbow lakes) and over 100 miles of walk, hike, and bike trails. It is home of the one and only Charro Days Festival and the Gladys Porter Zoo. Brownsville is the gateway to the future with the only deep-water port located on the U.S.-Mexico Border and the newest airport terminal in the region. As the latest New Space City, Brownsville’s space ecosystem is growing with SpaceX, Spaced Ventures, and Space Channel. Brownsville, Texas is located on the border, by the sea and beyond! Learn more at brownsvilletx.gov or by following the City of Brownsville on its official social media pages: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC)
The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) is a non-profit organization, Type A Economic Development Corporation, created to oversee the disbursement of a ¼ cent sales tax collected in the City of Brownsville. The GBIC board, approve funding for job creation incentives and various performance-based programs related to manufacturing, infrastructure and education. GBIC also provides business assistance, site selection, and permitting assistance, as well as job training to businesses wanting to locate in Brownsville. For more information on GBIC, visit their website, Facebook, and Linkedin.
For more information contact:
Helen Ramirez, (956)561-4133
hramirez@greaterbrownsville.com
