Terra Industries, a defense tech startup founded by 22-year-old Nathan Nwachuku and 24-year-old Maxwell Maduka, has raised $11.75 million to tackle Africa’s growing insecurity challenges using homegrown defense technology.
The company announced this landmark fundraising on Monday via a statement as it emerges from stealth to scale autonomous security systems designed to protect critical infrastructure across the continent.
The funding round was led by U.S. venture capital firm 8VC, 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 investor Micky Malka.
Alex Moore, Defense Partner at 8VC and a Board Director at Palantir, joined Terra Industries’ board last year.
Founded in 2024, Terra Industries designs and manufactures autonomous defense systems that enable governments and infrastructure operators to monitor, secure, and respond to threats across land, air, and maritime environments.
What they are saying
According to the company, Africa is entering a critical phase of industrialization, with nearly $100 billion invested annually in infrastructure and the continent holding about 30% of global critical mineral reserves.
- However, much of this infrastructure is located in remote and unstable regions, where insecurity, terrorism, organized crime, and illegal resource extraction continue to threaten operations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel.
“Africa is industrializing faster than any other region, with new mines, refineries, and power plants emerging every month,” said Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries.
“But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles heel, which is insecurity and terrorism,” he added.
To address this gap, Terra Industries says it is building Africa’s first defense technology prime — a vertically integrated platform of autonomous systems tailored to the continent’s terrain and operating realities.
The company says the new funding will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, grow engineering and software teams, and deploy more autonomous systems across allied African countries.
Terra Industries’ technology
Terra’s product suite includes long- and mid-range drones, autonomous sentry towers, unmanned ground vehicles, and maritime surveillance systems, all powered by ArtemisOS, its proprietary software platform.
ArtemisOS enables real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning, and coordinated responses across vast environments where traditional security models struggle to scale.
- The startup disclosed that it already secured infrastructure assets valued at approximately $11 billion across Africa, with tens of millions of dollars in signed contracts and a strong pipeline across both public and private sector clients.
- 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.
- While Terra’s existing contracts focus on infrastructure protection, the company says it is expanding into multinational border security and counterterrorism as regional instability intensifies.
What you should know
Security remains one of the biggest risks to Africa’s industrial growth, affecting energy projects, mining operations, and cross-border trade.
Nigeria, in particular, is currently facing one of the toughest security challenges in decades with an increase in the spate of kidnappings and terrorist attacks.
As part of measures to address the growing insecurity in the nation, President Bola Tinubu recently increased the Nigeria Police Force recruitment exercise from 30,000 to 50,000, citing the emerging security challenges across the country.
Startups like Terra Industries could help the country in tackling some of its security challenges, using technology.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the company said it has secured a $1.2 million, five-year security contract to protect two hydroelectric power plants in Nigeria.
This marks the company’s largest contract to date and its first deployment in the hydroelectric sector.
