Joe Lonsdale, the tech billionaire behind Palantir, just led an $11.8 million funding round for Terra Industries, a Nigerian drone manufacturer that’s barely two years old. The investment signals something interesting—serious international money is starting to flow into Africa’s defense technology sector.
The round was led by Lonsdale’s venture firm 8VC and announced this past Monday. Alex Moore, a defense-focused partner at 8VC who also sits on Palantir’s board as a non-executive director, joined Terra’s board last year. That’s notable because it suggests 8VC has been circling this deal for a while, doing their homework before committing capital.
Who’s Behind Terra Industries
Terra was founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku, who’s 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24. Yeah, you read that right—they’re in their early twenties and building drones for counter-terrorism operations. The Abuja-based startup makes long and mid-range drones, autonomous sentry towers, and uncrewed ground vehicles.
Their client list includes security contracts for infrastructure across Africa worth around $11 billion—hydropower facilities in Nigeria, gold and lithium mining operations in Ghana, that kind of thing. These aren’t consumer drones. We’re talking about hardware designed to protect critical industrial assets in regions where security threats are very real.
“Africa is industrializing faster than any other region, with new mines, refineries and power plants emerging every month,” Nwachuku said. “But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles’ heel, which is insecurity and terrorism.”
He’s not exaggerating the threat level. Groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda have been expanding their operations across West Africa, and the Economic Community of West African States recently declared a regional state of emergency over escalating violence. When governments are declaring emergencies, companies protecting billion-dollar infrastructure need serious security solutions.
Why This Investment Matters
What makes this funding round interesting isn’t just the dollar amount—it’s who showed up. Beyond 8VC, the round pulled in Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, and angel investors like Meyer Malka from Ribbit Capital. Malka’s known for backing fintech companies like Revolut and Credit Karma, so his participation suggests investors outside the traditional defense tech circle see potential here.
That’s a pretty heavyweight cap table for a two-year-old African startup. Getting Silicon Valley firms and experienced defense investors to write checks means Terra’s probably demonstrated something beyond just a good pitch deck—actual deployed technology, real contracts, evidence their drones work in the field.
Terra says the money will go toward expanding manufacturing capacity and scaling their cross-border security and counter-terrorism operations. They’re also emphasizing that most of their engineering team is based in Africa, designing and building everything on the continent rather than importing foreign technology and slapping a local brand on it.
The Bigger Picture
There’s been a lot of talk about Africa’s tech potential over the years, but most of the venture capital has flowed into fintech and e-commerce—sectors that don’t require physical manufacturing or deep technical capabilities. Defense technology is different. You need engineering talent, supply chains, regulatory approvals, and customers willing to bet critical infrastructure security on your products.
If Terra can deliver on what they’re promising, it positions them right at the intersection of two massive trends: Africa’s industrial growth and the region’s urgent need for better security infrastructure. Whether they can scale manufacturing fast enough to meet demand while maintaining quality is the open question.
For now, they’ve got the backing and the board members to make a serious run at it. And if a 22-year-old and a 24-year-old from Nigeria can attract Joe Lonsdale’s capital in this market, they’re probably doing something right.
