Terra Industries raises $11.75 million to upscale Africa’s defence systems

Terra Industries, a defence tech startup, has raised $11.75 million to address Africa’s growing insecurity challenges using homegrown defence technology.

The funding round was led by U.S. venture capital firm 8VC, founded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, and angel investor Micky Malka.

“The goal is to build Africa’s first defence prime, to build autonomous defence systems and other technologies that protect our critical infrastructure and resources from armed attacks. We want to take the defence of our continent’s resources and infrastructure into Africa’s own hands,” Co-founder and CEO Nathan Nwachuku said in a statement.

Much of the intelligence used by African states still comes from external powers in the West, as well as China and Russia. Terra’s ambition is to build locally owned intelligence and defence infrastructure that reduces this dependence.

With the new funding, Terra plans to expand its manufacturing capacity across Africa, build additional defence factories, and grow its teams in artificial intelligence and software. While the company intends to open software offices in San Francisco and London, it said manufacturing will remain on the continent to support job creation and local capability development.

Terra has begun generating revenue, earning more than $2.5 million from commercial customers, according to the company. It said it is currently protecting assets valued at approximately $11 billion, including hydropower plants, mines, and power infrastructure, with most of its clients based in Nigeria. The company recently secured its first federal government contract, though it declined to disclose further details.