Nigerian defence-technology startup Terra Industries has closed Africa’s largest seed round at $52 million. The company raised an additional $18 million this week to reach that total. The fresh capital caps a rapid run of fundraising for the two-year-old startup, which builds autonomous security systems for governments and infrastructure operators across the continent.
The latest tranche drew participation from existing backers 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel. Two new investors also joined: Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon. Terra did not disclose a new valuation for this round. However, its chief executive has previously said the company was valued in the nine figures after an earlier extension.
Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka founded Terra Industries in 2024. The company designs and manufactures autonomous defence systems, including drones, sentry towers and unmanned ground vehicles. These systems help governments and infrastructure operators monitor and protect high-value sites. Formerly known as Terrahaptix, the company emerged from stealth in January with an $11.75 million round led by 8VC, the venture firm founded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. A month later, it closed a $22 million follow-on round led by Lux Capital. That pushed its total seed funding past $30 million before this week’s close.
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Now that the round has closed, Terra plans to open its first international office in London. Nwachuku has said the London base will house the company’s operations and AI talent. Manufacturing, meanwhile, stays rooted in Africa, at facilities in Abuja, Nigeria and Accra, Ghana. The company currently runs a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, Pax-1, in Abuja. Its second facility, Pax-2, is a 34,000-square-foot factory in Ghana. Terra describes it as set to become the continent’s largest drone plant once fully operational. That facility should open in the fourth quarter of 2026, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 units across Terra’s aerial systems.
Terra says its technology already protects nationally critical assets worth roughly $11 billion across several African countries. The company is also targeting more than $100 million in contract bookings by year’s end, with revenue expected to reach the tens of millions of dollars. Right now, products like Archer and Kallon are in demand for persistent monitoring and autonomous surveillance of infrastructure and high-value sites. Nwachuku has said that mix could shift as the company scales another product, Kama.
Beyond Africa, Terra has its sights set on the Gulf, South America and South Asia. Nwachuku frames this as an effort to build sovereign defence infrastructure for the Global South, rather than rely on systems designed elsewhere. Notably, 8VC also backs American defence company Anduril, reportedly in talks to raise funding at a $100 billion valuation, as well as Shield AI. That places Terra within a wider surge of investor interest in defence technology outside the traditional US and European markets.
Three funding tranches in eight months is an unusually fast pace for a seed-stage company anywhere. It reflects how quickly investors have moved to back Terra’s bet that locally built, locally manufactured defence alternatives can outcompete foreign suppliers over time. With the seed round now closed, the startup is reportedly already laying groundwork for a Series A raise to fund higher-volume manufacturing and its international push.
