African defence technology startup Terra Industries has officially emerged from stealth, announcing an $11.75 million funding round to scale its autonomous security systems designed specifically for Africa’s unique security challenges. The round was led by 8VC, the U.S.-based venture firm founded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, and angel investors including Micky Malka.
The funding marks a significant milestone for a company positioning itself as Africa’s first defense technology prime, at a time when infrastructure investment across the continent is accelerating faster than security capabilities can keep up.
Solving Africa’s Infrastructure Security Gap
Africa is undergoing a decisive phase of industrialisation. The continent holds nearly 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, boasts the youngest population globally, and is investing close to $100 billion annually in infrastructure. Yet much of this infrastructure—power plants, mines, refineries, and transport assets—is located in remote and often unstable regions.
Insecurity driven by terrorism, organised crime, illegal resource extraction, and weak surveillance continues to disrupt operations and undermine investor confidence, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel. Terra Industries was founded to directly address this widening gap between economic development and effective security.
“Africa is industrialising faster than any other region,” said co-founder and CEO Nathan Nwachuku. “But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles heel, which is insecurity and terrorism.”
Autonomous Defense Systems Built for Africa
Founded in 2024 by 22-year-old Nwachuku and 24-year-old Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries designs and manufactures autonomous, multi-domain security systems tailored to Africa’s scale, terrain, and operating realities. Its portfolio includes:
- Long- and mid-range surveillance drones
- Autonomous sentry towers
- Unmanned ground vehicles
- Maritime surveillance systems
All systems are powered by ArtemisOS, Terra’s proprietary software platform that enables real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning, and coordinated responses across land, air, and sea.
Unlike traditional security models that rely heavily on manpower and fragmented tools, Terra’s vertically integrated approach allows infrastructure operators and governments to monitor and secure vast environments efficiently and at scale.
Real Deployments Across Africa
Terra Industries’ technology is already deployed across multiple African countries, protecting infrastructure assets valued at approximately $11 billion. Current deployments include the Geometric Power Plant in Aba, two hydropower plants in northern Nigeria, and gold and lithium mining operations in Nigeria and Ghana.
The company has secured tens of millions of dollars in contracts, with a strong public- and private-sector pipeline. While its initial focus has been infrastructure security, Terra is rapidly expanding into border security and counterterrorism, as regional instability intensifies.
African Talent, African Manufacturing
A key differentiator for Terra Industries is its commitment to building on the continent. The company operates a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Abuja, Nigeria, and designs and manufactures its systems locally using predominantly African engineering talent.
“This is African technology, built by African engineers, for African infrastructure,” said co-founder and CTO Maxwell Maduka, a former Nigerian Navy UAV engineer. “We are creating skilled jobs, building advanced manufacturing capacity, and keeping Africa’s security IP on the continent.”
Before Terra, many African governments relied on foreign defense systems from China, Europe, and elsewhere. Terra has successfully competed against these incumbents by offering stronger data sovereignty, tighter hardware-software integration, faster deployment, and reliable on-the-ground support.
Scaling the Defense Prime for Africa
The new funding will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, grow engineering and software teams, and deploy more autonomous systems across allied African countries. Alex Moore, Partner at 8VC and a board director at Palantir, who joined Terra’s board last year, described the company as tackling “a vital problem for the continent.”
As Africa’s infrastructure footprint expands, Terra Industries is positioning itself at the intersection of defense technology, industrial growth, and African self-reliance, offering a locally built solution to one of the continent’s most pressing challenges: securing its future.
