Terra Industries, an Nigerian defence-technology startup, has raised US$11.75 million in a funding round led by 8VC, the U.S. venture capital firm founded by Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale.
- •The round also included Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital, Silent Ventures, Nova Global and angel investor Micky Malka.
- •Terra aims to build what it describes as Africa’s first defence prime; a vertically integrated company capable of designing, manufacturing and deploying autonomous defence and intelligence systems locally.
- •Its strategy challenges Africa’s long-standing reliance on security and intelligence supplied by Western governments, China and Russia.
“The goal is to build Africa’s first defence prime, to build autonomous defence systems and other technologies that protect our critical infrastructure and resources from armed attacks. We want to take the defence of our continent’s resources and infrastructure into Africa’s own hands,” said the co-founder and CEO Nathan Nwachuku.
The company was founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka. The company said it is currently protecting assets valued at roughly US$11 billion, largely in Nigeria.
Terra’s product lineup includes long- and mid-range drones, autonomous sentry towers, unmanned ground vehicles and maritime surveillance systems, all coordinated through ArtemisOS, the company’s operating system for real-time threat detection and response.
The startup's backers say Terra’s advantage lies in local manufacturing and data control. The company designs and builds its systems on the continent, operating a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Abuja, and says it has won contracts against foreign suppliers by offering tighter hardware-software integration, faster deployment, and greater data sovereignty. The startup has reportedly begun generating revenue, reporting more than US$2.5 million in commercial sales.
“Africa is industrializing faster than any other region, with new mines, refineries, and power plants emerging every month. But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles heel, which is insecurity and terrorism,” Nwachuku said.
Alex Moore, a defense partner at 8VC and a board director at Palantir, joined Terra’s board last year, linking the startup closely to Silicon Valley’s data-driven defense ecosystem.
According to the founders, the continent holds roughly 30% of global critical mineral reserves and spends close to US$100 billion a year on infrastructure, yet much of that investment is concentrated in remote and unstable regions where security has lagged economic development.
Terra plans to use the new funding to expand manufacturing capacity, hire engineers and scale deployments across allied African countries, while establishing software and business development leadership in San Francisco and London.
Palantir Technologies is a U.S. data-analytics company whose software is widely used by military and intelligence agencies to integrate surveillance, battlefield and operational data in real time. Founded in 2003, it has become a core supplier to Western defense and security institutions despite concerns about citizen surveillance.
