City of Brownsville lays groundwork to the next frontier

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Valley Central) — The City of Brownsville and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation announced a partnership with 9Point8 Capital to expand the space industry in Brownsville on Monday, November 8.

“We are excited to locate a key part of our operations within the City of Brownsville,” J. Brant Arseneau, the founder of 9Point8 Capital said in a release. “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.”

9Point8 Capital will bring a local office, venture fund, incubator, and hatchery to Brownsville. All these new additions are part of Arseneau’s other space industry investments which will lay the groundwork for the industry in Brownsville.

“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.” Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said in the release, “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.”

Helen Ramirez, part of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation and the Deputy City Manager for Brownsville would add, “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.”

The City of Brownsville also mentions, 9Point8 Capital will also serve the community through this partnership, as they will be creating a Space Scholarship Fund that will be available to students in Brownsville who attend the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.