Nigeria-based drone developer Terra Industries has secured $34 million in new funding — including $22 million raised in less than two weeks — to scale up its manufacturing operations.
The funding round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from existing investors and several individual backers. The company plans to use the capital to expand production capacity and broaden deployments across Nigeria and other African partner nations. The investment will also support recruitment across engineering, software development, and business operations.
Terra Industries designs autonomous systems aimed at safeguarding critical infrastructure across land, air, and maritime domains. Its platforms are currently deployed at facilities such as power plants and mining sites in multiple African countries.
The company’s portfolio includes unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous sentry towers, and ground-based robotic systems. These assets are integrated through its ArtemisOS software platform, which enables real-time surveillance, automated mission planning, and coordinated responses across wide operational environments.
Rising Security Pressures
Africa is experiencing accelerating industrial expansion, driven by abundant natural resources and sustained infrastructure investment. According to the International Monetary Fund, the continent holds roughly 30 percent of the world’s critical mineral reserves and attracts more than $80 billion in annual infrastructure spending.
However, security risks remain significant. In parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel, infrastructure sabotage, illegal mining, organized crime, and militant violence continue to disrupt economic development and local communities.
Terra Industries noted that these risks create a gap between capital investment and effective ground-level security, undermining supply chains, deterring investors, and increasing strain on state institutions.
Localized Defense Capabilities
To address these challenges, the company is prioritizing domestically developed autonomous technologies to reduce dependence on imported security systems, which often involve higher costs and supply-chain complexities.
The strategy aligns with the concept of “Pax Africana,” advocating for African-led solutions to regional security challenges through strengthened domestic capabilities and data control. Within this framework, Terra Industries highlights predictive monitoring, persistent surveillance, scalable autonomy across varied terrains, and data sovereignty as critical components for enabling governments to detect, deter, and respond to threats without excessive reliance on external forces.
