Terra Industries raises $11.75M to build Pan-African defense systems

Terra Industries, a defense startup based in Abuja and founded by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, announced Monday that it has emerged from stealth with a $11.75 million funding round led by Joe Lonsdale's 8VC. The company said it designs infrastructure and autonomous systems to help governments and organisations monitor and respond to threats, producing long- and short-range drones, surveillance towers and ground drones while developing maritime technology for offshore rigs and pipelines.

Terra powers its systems with proprietary software called ArtemisOS, which it says collects and analyses data in real time and alerts response forces. About 40% of its engineers previously held the same roles in the Nigerian military, 8VC partner Alex Moore is on the board and Nigeria's Vice Air Marshal Ayo Jolasinmi serves as an advisor.

Investors in the round include Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel and Nova Global, with African investors such as Tofino Capital, Kaleo Ventures and DFS Lab. The company previously raised an $800,000 pre-seed round and said it drew interest after appearing on CNN. Terra recently won its first federal contract, though it said it cannot provide more details.

Terra said it has generated more than $2.5 million in commercial revenue protecting assets valued at around $11 billion, including at least two hydropower plants and several smaller mines, with most clients in Nigeria.

Key Topics

Tech, Terra Industries, Abuja, Nigeria, Artemisos, Drones