Nigerian Defense Tech Startup Terra Industries Raises $18M to Expand Its $52M Seed Round

Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries co-founders

Nigerian defense technology company Terra Industries has raised an additional $18 million, bringing its seed funding round to $52 million as it expands autonomous security systems designed to protect critical infrastructure across the Global South.

The latest financing includes existing investors 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel, alongside new investor Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon.

Terra plans to deploy the new capital across three priorities:

• International expansion: Opening its first international office in London.
• Manufacturing: Increasing production capacity in Africa.
• Deployments: Accelerating the rollout of autonomous security systems across critical infrastructure markets.

The funding follows Terra's earlier $34 million financing announced in March 2026, which included an initial $11.8 million seed round led by 8VC and a subsequent $22 million extension led by Lux Capital.

Read Also: Terra Industries Raises $11.75M to Build Africa's Defence Tech Stack

What does Terra Industries build?

Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries develops autonomous systems for monitoring and securing critical infrastructure across land, air and maritime environments.

The company says its technology is already deployed across multiple African countries, protecting power plants, mines and other nationally critical assets with an estimated combined value of approximately $11 billion.

Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries, said the funding will allow the company to scale its manufacturing base while expanding its presence in international defense markets.

“Critical infrastructure across the Global South is best protected by systems designed for these environments and built in the regions they protect.”

Terra's approach is centered on developing defense and security systems locally rather than relying entirely on imported platforms, a strategy the company argues can improve supply-chain resilience while giving infrastructure operators greater control over technology and data.

Why is Terra Industries opening an office in London?

Terra's planned London office is intended to give the company closer access to institutions, customers and partners involved in global defense and infrastructure markets.

The company also expects London to provide access to international operations and AI talent, while keeping its core manufacturing footprint in Africa.

This creates a two-region operating model: London will serve as an international commercial and strategic hub, while African facilities will remain central to Terra's manufacturing strategy.

Terra also plans to expand manufacturing and operations beyond Africa into the Gulf, South America and South Asia, broadening its addressable market across emerging economies.

How is Terra expanding its African manufacturing capacity?

Terra is expanding its manufacturing footprint through Pax-2, a 34,000-square-foot facility in Accra, Ghana.

The facility follows Terra's 15,000-square-foot Pax-1 factory in Abuja, Nigeria, making Pax-2 more than twice the size of its existing manufacturing site.

Pax-2 is designed to become Terra's primary regional manufacturing base for drone and counter-drone systems. The company expects the facility to reach an annual production capacity of 50,000 aerial systems by 2028.

Public information released earlier in 2026 indicated that Pax-2 was expected to create approximately 120 engineering jobs in Ghana, further supporting Terra's strategy of building defense manufacturing capabilities locally.

Manufacturing facility	Location	Size	Production target
Pax-1	Abuja, Nigeria	15,000 sq. ft.	Up to 30,000 drones annually
Pax-2	Accra, Ghana	34,000 sq. ft.	Up to 50,000 aerial systems annually by 2028

Pax-2 is expected to become Africa's largest drone manufacturing facility once fully operational, according to Terra and multiple reports on the company's expansion.

What products does Terra Industries manufacture?

Terra's product portfolio combines autonomous aerial, ground and fixed security systems into a broader infrastructure-protection platform.

Its systems include:

• Archer VTOL: A long-range vertical take-off and landing aircraft designed for surveillance and infrastructure protection.
• Iroko UAV: A compact autonomous aerial system designed for tactical deployments.
• Kama: A high-speed interceptor drone designed for counter-drone operations.
• Sentry towers: Fixed surveillance systems for monitoring large or remote areas.
• Unmanned ground vehicles: Autonomous platforms designed for ground surveillance and operational support.

Terra's aerial systems are being manufactured through its expanding African production infrastructure, with Pax-2 expected to significantly increase output from 2026 onward and target 50,000 units annually by 2028.

How does Terra's ArtemisOS platform work?

The company's hardware portfolio is connected through ArtemisOS, Terra's proprietary software platform for coordinating autonomous security operations.

ArtemisOS is designed to provide real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning and coordinated responses across multiple systems and operating environments.

This software layer is important to Terra's strategy because the company is not positioning itself solely as a drone manufacturer. Instead, it is building an integrated autonomous security platform that connects aerial systems, ground vehicles and fixed surveillance infrastructure.

The model allows operators to coordinate multiple autonomous assets through a unified system, supporting security operations across large and difficult-to-monitor environments. Public descriptions of the platform emphasize its role in integrating sensor inputs, mission planning and autonomous responses.

Why is Terra targeting critical infrastructure in emerging markets?

Terra is targeting infrastructure operators and governments facing threats such as infrastructure sabotage, illegal mining, organized crime and terrorism.

The company's strategy reflects a broader challenge for infrastructure owners operating in remote or high-risk environments: conventional security systems can be expensive to deploy and maintain across large geographic areas, while imported technology can create additional supply-chain and geopolitical dependencies.

Terra argues that locally manufactured autonomous systems can reduce those dependencies while improving control over hardware, software and operational data.

The company has consequently positioned its business around a combination of defense technology, autonomous systems, AI-enabled surveillance and local manufacturing, rather than focusing on a single drone product.

What does Terra's $52M funding mean for its expansion?

The latest $18 million financing gives Terra additional capital to move from early deployment toward larger-scale manufacturing and international expansion.

The company's trajectory in 2026 has already included multiple manufacturing and funding milestones. Its earlier $34 million financing supported increased production, engineering expansion and deployments across African markets, while the new funding brings the reported seed round total to $52 million.

With a 34,000-square-foot facility in Ghana, a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing base in Nigeria and a planned London office, Terra Industries is building an operating footprint that spans manufacturing, software, defense technology and international market development.

Its ability to translate that capital into recurring deployments and sustained production at the targeted 50,000-unit annual capacity by 2028 will be a key measure of whether Terra can establish itself as a major defense technology company originating from Africa.

 

 

FAQs

1. How much funding has Terra Industries raised?
Terra Industries has closed its seed funding round at $52 million, including an additional $18 million in the latest financing.

2. What does Terra Industries do?
Terra Industries develops autonomous security and defense systems for protecting critical infrastructure across land, air and maritime environments.

3. Who founded Terra Industries?
Terra Industries was founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka.

4. Where is Terra Industries' new drone factory located?
Terra's Pax-2 manufacturing facility is located in Accra, Ghana. The 34,000-square-foot facility is expected to reach production capacity of 50,000 aerial systems annually by 2028.

5. What is ArtemisOS?
ArtemisOS is Terra Industries' proprietary software platform that connects its autonomous security systems and supports real-time threat detection, mission planning and coordinated responses.