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Terra Industries, a DefenceTech company building autonomous security systems to protect critical infrastructure across the Global South, has raised an additional $18 million. The announcement comes around five months after the earlier $34 million extension led by Lux Capital.
The extension closes its Seed round at $52 million. Existing investors 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital, and SV Angel participated in the round, alongside new investor Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon.
“Critical infrastructure across the Global South is best protected by systems designed for these environments and built in the regions they protect. This funding lets us scale that work and deepen our manufacturing base. It also puts us in the rooms where global defence decisions are made,” said Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries.
Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries designs and manufactures autonomous defence systems powered by ArtemisOS that help governments and infrastructure operators monitor and secure critical assets, as well as respond to threats across land, air, and maritime environments.
Africa holds about 30% of the world’s critical minerals and invests $100 billion annually in infrastructure, but many projects are in remote areas and face security threats such as sabotage and crime.
Traditionally, governments have used imported security systems that are costly and ill-suited to local conditions, creating geopolitical risks. Terra seeks to change this by promoting the idea of Pax Africana, encouraging Africa to take charge of its own peace and security.
The company’s technology is already deployed to protect power plants, mines, and other nationally critical assets valued at approximately €9.5 billion ($11 billion) across multiple African countries.
The company aims to support African industrialisation by addressing security challenges in the continent’s infrastructure development.
Terra’s product portfolio includes long- and mid-range autonomous drones, interceptor drones, sentry towers, and unmanned ground vehicles, all connected through ArtemisOS, that enables real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning, and coordinated response across vast and difficult environments.
“We believe in a future where local defence technology prevails, because security is the prerequisite for all economic growth. That’s why Terra Industries is building the African defence prime that secures sovereignty and provides the necessary counterterrorism technology on the continent,” said Brandon Reeves, Partner at Lux Capital, at the time of the earlier round.
Terra plans to use the funding to open its first international office in London, expand manufacturing capacity, accelerate deployments across the Global South, and grow its engineering, operations, and business development teams.
According to the company, the London office will give “direct access to key institutions that impact global defence and infrastructure markets, as well as top operations and AI talent.”
However, manufacturing will stay in Africa, and there are plans to expand into the Gulf, South America, and South Asia.
It recently announced plans to open the continent’s largest drone manufacturing facility in Accra, Ghana. Called Pax-2, the 34,000-square-foot facility will be Terra’s second manufacturing facility and serve as its primary regional defence manufacturing base for drone and counter-drone systems. The new manufacturing facility follows the 15,000-square-foot Pax-1 flagship facility in Abuja, Nigeria.
Terra’s Pax-2 manufacturing facility is set to open in Q4 2026 and will become the largest drone factory on the African continent once fully operational, with an expected annual capacity of 50,000 units across Terra’s aerial systems portfolio by 2028.
Terra Industries works with governments, infrastructure operators, and strategic partners across Africa and internationally.
