Nigerian defense-tech startup Terra Industries closes Africa's largest seed round at $52 million

Terra Industries, a Nigerian defense-technology startup that builds autonomous security systems, has raised an additional $18 million, closing what it described as Africa's largest seed round at $52 million.

Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon joined the round as new backers, alongside existing investors 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel, according to a company statement. The startup said it would use the capital to open its first international office in London, expand manufacturing capacity, accelerate deployment across the Global South and grow its engineering, operations and business development teams.

The raise caps a rapid year for Terra. The company secured $11.75 million in January, then raised $22 million in a follow-on round led by Lux Capital the next month, reports indicate. It has since announced a 34,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Ghana and signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria's Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to establish a joint venture for local production of defense systems.

Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra develops autonomous systems that help governments and infrastructure operators monitor critical assets such as power plants and mines across land, air and maritime environments. Its products include long- and mid-range autonomous drones, interceptor drones, sentry towers and unmanned ground vehicles.

The systems connect through ArtemisOS, Terra's proprietary software platform, which the company says enables real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning and coordinated responses. Terra says its technology already protects nationally critical assets worth about $11 billion across several African countries.

"Critical infrastructure across the Global South is best protected by systems designed for these environments and built in the regions they protect," Nwachuku, co-founder and chief executive, said in the statement. He added that the funding would deepen the company's manufacturing base and place it in rooms where global defense decisions are made.

Terra operates its 15,000-square-foot Pax-1 facility in Abuja, Nigeria. Its second plant, Pax-2, a 34,000-square-foot site in Ghana, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026 and reach annual production capacity of 50,000 units across its aerial systems portfolio by 2028. The company says it will be the largest drone factory on the continent once fully operational.

Beyond Ghana and Nigeria, Terra said it plans to extend its manufacturing footprint across the Gulf, South America and South Asia.