Part of Project Jupiter Watch — the public record of the $165B data-center deal in Doña Ana County, NM. New here? Start with the Film →
Dossier · Who's Who
Alicia Keyes
The governor's former economic development secretary, now founder and CEO of Apaluma, an AI company written into NMED contracts without a bid, and a member of BorderPlex Digital Assets' leadership team.
Conflicts of interest · 1
Flagged entanglements involving this party. Characterization on disclosed facts — see the full ledger and each party’s right of reply.
At a glance
- Current roles
- Founder and CEO, Apaluma[6]
- Leadership team member, BorderPlex Digital Assets[2],[5]
- Earlier role
- Economic Development Secretary, NM Economic Development Dept (NMEDD)2019-01–2023-07-13[1]
- Category
- Executive
- Jurisdiction
- Private sector (no public jurisdiction)
- Businesses
- Apaluma (founder and CEO, AI/government-data company holding no-bid NMED contract work)
- Verification
- confirmed — Two independent accounts agree
- In the record
- 7 sources · 4 connections · 0 dated entries
- Record id
- PJP19
Key facts
- New Mexico Economic Development Secretary from January 2019 to July 13, 2023.[1]
- Named on BorderPlex Digital Assets' leadership team alongside Lanham Napier and George P. Bush.[2],[5]
- 2025-05Apaluma was added to NMED's Speridian contract through a $499,990 no-bid amendment for Project Velocity in May 2025.[3]
- Keyes and Apaluma were added to a second NMED contract, valued at $977,354, directed by Secretary Kenney without competitive bidding.[4]
- Apaluma closed a $5.55 million seed round, announced the week the Project Jupiter permit ruling was due.[6]
- The record lists Keyes as a lobbyist for the WATR Alliance.
The record
The governor's former economic development secretary (2019–2023), now founder-CEO of Apaluma — the AI company her old cabinet colleague's agency wrote into contracts without a bid, whose product ingested NMED's entire archive, and which raised $5.55M the week the Jupiter permit ruling was due. The lead investor's pitch was her government career itself.
Relationships · 4
In the Watch · 3
Sources · 7
- 1.governmentOffice of the Governor — announcement of Economic Development Secretary Alicia J. Keyes's departure (tenure Jan 2019 – Jul 13, 2023) ↗
- 2.newsHeath Haussamen — Project Jupiter analysis naming Keyes on BorderPlex Digital's leadership team alongside Lanham Napier and George P. Bush ↗
- 3.newsThe CANDLE — Keyes's Apaluma added to NMED Speridian contract via $499,990 no-bid amendment (Project Velocity, May 2025) ↗
- 4.newsThe CANDLE — Keyes and Apaluma added to a second NMED contract valued at $977,354, directed by Secretary Kenney without competitive bidding ↗
- 5.newsEl Paso News — Project Jupiter's El Paso connection; lists Keyes on BorderPlex Digital Assets' leadership webpage ↗
- 6.primary-sourcePR Newswire — Apaluma $5.55M seed ↗
- 7.governmentNM Secretary of State — lobbyist-employer rosters (GetAuthorizedLobbyists), 2025–2026, as shown on the public client pages (pulled Sept 27 2026) ↗
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