Terra Industries, a Nigerian defense tech startup focused on autonomous security systems for infrastructure, has exited stealth with an $11.75 million seed funding round. The raise, announced January 12, 2026, was led by U.S. 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 Meyer Malka.
Alex Moore, a defense partner at 8VC and board director at Palantir, joined Terra’s board last year.
Founded in 2023 by Nathan Nwachuku (now 23, CEO) and Maxwell Maduka (now 24, CTO) in Abuja, Nigeria, Terra, formerly Terrahaptix, designs and manufactures drones, sentry towers, unmanned ground vehicles, and maritime surveillance systems. These are powered by its proprietary ArtemisOS software for real-time threat detection and response.
The company operates a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Abuja and currently secures infrastructure assets valued at approximately $11 billion across Africa, including the Geometric Power Plant in Aba, two hydropower plants in northern Nigeria, and gold and lithium mining operations in Nigeria and Ghana. Terra serves government agencies and private operators, with plans to expand into border security and counterterrorism.
Nwachuku highlighted Africa’s industrialization challenges: “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.”
Maduka emphasized local production: “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.”
The funding will expand manufacturing, grow engineering and software teams, and deploy systems across more African countries. Terra positions itself as Africa’s first vertically integrated defense prime, competing against foreign incumbents by offering data sovereignty, integrated hardware-software, faster deployment, and on-the-ground support.
Nwachuku represented Nigeria at the Physics Olympiad and built an edtech platform reaching hundreds of thousands of users. Maduka, raised in Nigerian Naval barracks, served in the Navy as a UAV engineer and founded a drone company acquired by an automotive manufacturer.
Terra’s team includes experts from the Nigerian armed forces, global tech firms, and Western defense organizations. The startup previously raised an $800,000 pre-seed and includes African investors like Tofino Capital, Kaleo Ventures, and DFS Lab.
8VC’s Moore said: “Nathan and Maxwell have assembled a brilliant team to tackle a vital problem for the continent. We are excited to support their mission.”
Terra addresses Africa’s $100 billion annual infrastructure investments amid threats from corruption, crime, terrorism, and illegal extraction in remote regions. The continent holds 30% of global critical mineral reserves and has the world’s youngest population.
Terra Industries is a multi-domain systems and data intelligence company based in Abuja, with plans for engineering and business development in San Francisco and London. For more, visit terraindustries.co.
