Terra Industries, a defense technology company building autonomous security systems to protect Africa and its critical infrastructure, today emerges out of stealth and announces its $11.75 million round.
The round was led by U.S. venture 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 investors including Micky Malka. Alex Moore, Defense Partner at 8VC and Board Director at Palantir, joined Terra Industries’ board last year.
Founded in 2024 by 22-year-old Nathan Nwachuku and 24-year-old Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries designs and manufactures autonomous defense systems that help governments and infrastructure operators monitor, secure, and respond to threats across land, air, and maritime environments. Its technology is already deployed to protect power plants, mines, and other nationally critical assets across multiple African countries.
Africa is entering a decisive phase of industrialization. The continent is home to the world’s youngest population, holds roughly 30% of global critical mineral reserves, and is investing close to $100 billion annually in infrastructure. Yet much of this infrastructure is being built in remote and often unstable regions where security has not kept pace. Corruption, organized crime, terrorism, and illegal resource extraction continue to target infrastructure, disrupt supply chains, and undermine investor confidence, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel.
This widening gap between economic and industrial development and effective security is central to Terra Industries’ mission.
“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. Our mission is to give Africa the technological edge to protect its industrial future and defeat terrorism.”
To address this challenge, Terra Industries is building Africa’s first defense technology prime – a unified, vertically integrated platform of autonomous systems designed for the continent’s scale, terrain, and operating realities.
Terra’s portfolio includes long- and mid-range drones, autonomous sentry towers, unmanned ground vehicles, and maritime surveillance systems, all powered by ArtemisOS, Terra’s proprietary software platform. ArtemisOS enables real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning, and coordinated response across vast and difficult environments where traditional security models struggle to operate and scale.
Terra Industries already helps secure infrastructure assets valued at approximately $11 billion across Africa, with tens of millions in contracts and a robust public and private sector pipeline across the continent. 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 current contracts are focused on infrastructure security, the company is rapidly expanding into multi-national border security and counterterrorism as regional instability intensifies.
Terra’s team brings deep technical expertise and firsthand experience of Africa’s security challenges. Nwachuku represented Nigeria at the Physics Olympiad and, at 18, built an edtech platform that reached hundreds of thousands of users across dozens of countries before turning his focus to industrial security. Maduka grew up in Nigerian Naval barracks, served in the Nigerian Navy as a lead UAV engineer, and at 19, founded a drone company that was acquired by an automotive manufacturer.
Together, they have assembled a multidisciplinary team spanning software, manufacturing, and operations, with experience drawn from the Nigerian armed forces, global technology firms, and Western defense and intelligence organizations.
Terra Industries designs, builds, and manufactures its systems on the continent, with an engineering team composed primarily of African talent and operators. The company operates a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, with plans to expand engineering and business development leadership in San Francisco and London.
“This is African technology, built by African engineers, for African infrastructure. We are creating skilled jobs, building advanced manufacturing capacity, and ensuring the intellectual property behind Africa’s security stays on the continent.”
Before Terra, governments and operators across Africa were often forced to rely on foreign defense systems from China, Europe, and elsewhere. Terra has competed head-to-head, and won, against global incumbents by offering stronger data sovereignty, tighter hardware-software integration through a single orchestration layer, faster deployment, and reliable on-the-ground support.
The new funding will be used to expand Terra Industries’s manufacturing capacity, grow its engineering and software teams, and deploy more autonomous systems across allied African countries.
“Nathan and Maxwell have assembled a brilliant team to tackle a vital problem for the continent. We are excited to support their mission. ”
About Terra Industries
Terra Industries is a multi-domain systems and data intelligence company building the defense prime for Africa. The company serves critical sectors including energy, mineral resources, urban infrastructure, maritime assets, border security, and counterterrorism operations.
Founded in 2024, Terra develops integrated land, air, and maritime systems powered by ArtemisOS, its unified software platform for large-scale security operations. Terra’s mission is to give Africa the technological edge needed to secure its future.
Terra Industries works with governments, infrastructure operators, and strategic partners across Africa and internationally.