Terra Industries, a Nigerian founded defense-technology startup developing autonomous security systems for critical infrastructure in the Global South, has closed an additional $18 million in funding, bringing its seed round to $52 million.
Existing backers 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel participated in the extension, joined by new investor Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon. The company plans to use the capital to open its first international office in London, expand manufacturing, accelerate deployments across the Global South and hire more engineering, operations and business-development staff.
Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra designs and builds autonomous systems for monitoring and securing power plants, mines and other critical assets. The company said its technology is already protecting assets valued at roughly $11 billion across multiple African countries.
“Critical infrastructure across the Global South is best protected by systems designed for these environments and built in the regions they protect,” Chief Executive Nathan Nwachuku said. “This funding lets us scale that work and deepen our manufacturing base. It also puts us in the rooms where global defense decisions are made.”
The London office is intended to give Terra closer access to institutions that shape global defense and infrastructure markets, as well as engineering and AI talent. Manufacturing will remain in Africa, with further expansion planned for the Gulf, South America and South Asia.
Terra’s second factory, the 34,000-square-foot Pax-2 facility in Ghana, is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2026. It follows the 15,000-square-foot Pax-1 plant in Abuja, Nigeria, and is expected to become the largest drone factory on the continent once fully operational, with annual capacity targeting 50,000 units across Terra’s aerial systems by 2028.
The company positions its products—long- and mid-range autonomous drones, interceptor drones, sentry towers and unmanned ground vehicles—as alternatives to imported security systems that it says are often poorly suited to local conditions, costly to maintain and create geopolitical and supply-chain risks. All systems are linked through ArtemisOS, Terra’s proprietary software for real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning and coordinated response.
Terra Industries describes itself as a multi-domain systems and data intelligence company aiming to serve as a defense prime for Africa and the Global South, working with governments and infrastructure operators in energy, mining, urban infrastructure, maritime assets, border security and counterterrorism.
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