Announcing the Terra-8VC Partnership

Today, Terra Industries, Africa’s first modern defense prime, is out of stealth. Founded by ambitious repeat entrepreneurs, a competitive physicist and a Navy veteran UAV engineer, Terra is fast emerging as a critical institution in advancing the security and prosperity of the continent.  

We’ve had the privilege to work closely with Terra as they’ve built out a 15,000 square foot factory in Abuja, Nigeria, and progressed to securing billions of dollars in energy and mining assets. Now expanding into multi-national border security and urban infrastructure protection, Terra is opening manufacturing hubs across Africa and offices in San Francisco and London. As a premier manufacturing partner for governments, and trusted conduit for US companies, Terra develops and integrates best-in-class new defense technology for the continent. We are privileged to be lead investors, with 8VC Defense Partner Alex Moore joining the board last year—and to combine forces in defense of civilization and industrialization. 

Africa’s population is the world’s youngest and fastest-growing, set to exceed 25% of the global population by 2050. African infrastructure investment is approaching $100B annually, with a concerted effort to raise investment to ~$150B annually and double continental GDP by 2040. Sub-Saharan Africa has 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, and Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, a top ten global oil refinery, is set to double production and become the world’s largest by 2028.

These advantages are tempered by a host of interconnected threats: terrorism, resource theft, and systemic corruption. These threats are exacerbated by poor ground visibility, allowing bad actors to operate freely. 

1. Proliferation of terrorism and Islamist extremist groups 

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly 59% of all terrorism deaths globally. Extremist violence costs African countries an estimated $97B in economic activity annually from attacks on infrastructure, deaths and injuries, and lost productivity and earnings. The Sahel, stretching 1.2M square miles with Nigeria at the center, is often described as the world’s most dangerous region.

Atrocities in Nigeria such as the November kidnapping of over 200 Catholic schoolchildren and the June massacre of over 160 Christian farmers have captured global attention. Following US airstrikes in cooperation with the Nigerian government, ISIS affiliates burned down a village, declaring all Christians to be targets. 

These incidents are not isolated to Nigeria. In 2025 alone, 100 homes and churches were burned and 30 Christians beheaded in Mozambique, a Catholic hospital was attacked and 89 civilians were massacred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and an Al-Qaeda affiliate killed 60 soldiers in a Burkina Faso Army base attack.

2. Foreign resource expropriation 

As a key source of oil and critical minerals, Africa faces intense predation from foreign actors. Mines are often located in unregulated remote areas, and guarded by terrorist groups who extract mining proceeds to procure weapons. Across the continent, China is a major backer of these schemes. Chinese nationals have been arrested in Nigeria for illegal lithium mining, in the DRC for illegal gold mining, and an Interpol operation spanning Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea and Senegal netted over 200 arrests. Mining represents just one form of foreign expropriation, which includes illegal logging and industrial fishing. 

3. Fraud and corruption

Fraud and corruption cost Africa more than $90B per year.  As Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria loses an estimated $15 billion annually to oil theft and pipeline vandalism. In December 2025, the heads of Nigeria’s two main oil & gas regulatory bodies had to resign due to corruption allegations. Throughout the continent, corruption plagues the energy, natural resources, infrastructure, and government sectors.

With mounting threats and predators converging, two of Nigeria’s most talented builders have stepped up to defend their faith, countrymen, and critical institutions. Terra Industries is a multi-domain systems and data intelligence company with applications including counterterrorism, border security, mining, agriculture, and energy, urban, and maritime infrastructure. 

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Across Africa, security has historically focused on human detection and response, creating a reactive posture where illicit activities often go undetected for days or weeks. Before Terra, African nations’ public and private sectors depended on fragmented, insufficient technology offerings from foreign nations such as China, India, and others.

Terra’s hardware/software suite offers real-time visibility, shifting reactive incident management to proactive threat response. Current products include long and mid-range drones, sentry towers, and unmanned remote-controlled ground vehicles. These systems are orchestrated by their data intelligence platform, ArtemisOS, which enables autonomous mission planning, geolocation, data analysis, and threat detection. Terra has beaten foreign competitors such as Huawei head-to-head, driven by data sovereignty protections, multi-system hardware-software integration, speedy delivery, and reliable local support.

Terra’s vertically integrated approach prioritizes in-house manufacturing, assembly, and software development, and they will partner with industry leaders, including the 8VC portfolio, to accelerate best-in-class capabilities. Terra is rapidly addressing all relevant domains, with upcoming ISR products including maritime drones and high-altitude balloons.

Co-founder and CEO Nathan Nwachuku is an exceptionally ambitious entrepreneur who represented Nigeria in the Physics Olympiad and, at 18, built an ed-tech platform serving hundreds of thousands of users in dozens of countries to further African industrialization and security. Co-founder and CTO Maxwell Maduka grew up in Nigerian Naval barracks, was a lead UAV engineer in the Nigerian Navy at 18, and at 19, founded a drone startup, later acquired by an automotive manufacturer. Terra’s founding team has become a magnet for top technical and operational talent, drawing from leading software companies, military leadership, and Western defense and intelligence organizations. 

Africa presents endemic challenges that cannot be addressed by conventional, hands-off vendors or investors. Our earned insight as founders of Palantir, Epirus, OpenGov, and Saronic, and one of Anduril’s earliest investors, helped us see a unique opportunity to be early partners to Terra and become their first institutional investor. Our involvement was solidified by Nathan and Maxwell’s elite technical talent, entrepreneurial record, and principled realism. With 8VC Defense Partner Alex Moore joining the board, we are committing our capital and expertise to help Terra build a new defense prime for a rapidly industrializing continent with considerable geopolitical tailwinds and equally considerable hazards. 

In Nathan’s words, “The hegemony of the next 100 years will be largely influenced by African industrialization and the countries that become crucial stakeholders within the continent. Protecting both Africa’s industrial and natural wealth is key to counterterrorism.”

We were honored to lead Terra’s funding round last year, and have been thoroughly impressed by their progress towards becoming Africa’s leading defense prime. We look forward to partnering with additional allies and engaging our U.S. defense network to further this critical mission.

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