Terra Industries, a Nigeria-based defence technology startup, has raised $11.75 million in a funding round led by Silicon Valley venture firm 8VC, as it looks to scale autonomous systems and software designed to help African governments and businesses protect critical infrastructure from growing security threats.
The round also attracted participation from Valour Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, and Nova Global, alongside African investors including Tofino Capital, Kaleo Ventures, and DFS Lab. The company previously raised an $800,000 pre-seed round and said investor interest intensified after its work gained international attention following a CNN feature.
Founded by Nathan Nwachuku, 24, and Maxwell Maduka, 26, Terra Industries designs and deploys multi-domain defence systems, spanning air, land, and, eventually, sea, to monitor, detect, and respond to threats such as terrorism, sabotage, and armed attacks on critical assets. The company is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Nwachuku, Terra’s chief executive officer, said the startup was created in response to what he described as Africa’s most significant constraint to sustained growth: insecurity.
While the continent is experiencing rapid industrialisation and has a large, youthful population, he said, persistent security challenges threaten to slow or derail that progress.
“The goal is to build Africa’s first defense prime, to build autonomous defense systems and other technologies that protect our critical infrastructure and resources from armed attacks. We want to take the defense of our continent’s resources and infrastructure into Africa’s own hands,” Nwachuku said.
Terra’s products include long- and short-range drones for aerial surveillance, ground drones, and fixed surveillance towers designed to monitor large areas around sensitive sites. The company is also developing maritime technologies aimed at securing offshore infrastructure such as oil rigs and underwater pipelines.
At the core of Terra’s offering is its proprietary software platform, ArtemisOS, which aggregates and analyses data from deployed systems in real time. When potential threats are detected, the platform alerts response units such as security agencies, enabling faster intervention.
According to Nwachuku, the challenge facing many African countries is not a lack of weapons, but limited access to sovereign intelligence.
Much of the intelligence used by African states still comes from external powers in the West, as well as China and Russia. Terra’s ambition is to build locally owned intelligence and defence infrastructure that reduces this dependence.
The startup’s team reflects its defence focus. About 40 per cent of Terra’s engineers previously served in the Nigerian military, while co-founder and chief technology officer Maduka is a former Nigerian Navy engineer who founded a drone company at 19. 8VC’s Alex Moore, who specialises in defence investing, sits on Terra’s board, and Nigeria’s Vice Air Marshal Ayo Jolasinmi serves as an advisor.
Terra has begun generating revenue, earning more than $2.5 million from commercial customers, according to the company. It said it is currently protecting assets valued at approximately $11 billion, including hydropower plants, mines, and power infrastructure, with most of its clients based in Nigeria. The company recently secured its first federal government contract, though it declined to disclose further details.
Its business model involves selling hardware systems to government and commercial customers, followed by recurring annual fees for data processing and storage.
With the new funding, Terra plans to expand manufacturing capacity across Africa, build additional defence factories, and grow its artificial intelligence and software teams. While the company intends to open software offices in San Francisco and London, it said manufacturing will remain on the continent to support job creation and local capability development.
“We are the first truly Pan-African defense company. If Africa is to break free from the constraints that have held it back, then the core infrastructure and resources that drive its economies must be fully protected,” Nwachuku said.
As security concerns continue to shape Africa’s development trajectory, Terra Industries is betting that homegrown defence technology, built and operated on the continent, will play a central role in safeguarding its industrial future.
