Barely a month after raising another $18 million, bringing its total seed financing to $52 million, Nigerian defense technology startup Terra Industries has secured $2 million in contracts to protect two lithium mining operations in Nigeria.

The deals come just one week after Terra launched its commercial division, which is focused on providing security and surveillance systems to operators of critical infrastructure outside the defense sector.

Nathan Nwachuku, CEO of Terra Industries, said the division had made a strong start. The company will deploy a fleet of sentry towers and Iroko unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to provide real-time threat detection and response at the two mining sites.

“We’re deploying a fleet of sentry towers and Iroko UAVs for real-time threat detection and response,” Nwachuku said. “Terra will keep expanding its surveillance fleet across the global south until all critical infrastructure is under protection to counter all threats.”

Terra expands commercial security business

The contracts cover two mining companies and will see Terra install 20 sentry towers and four Iroko drones across their sites. The systems will operate on ArtemisOS, Terra’s autonomous command-and-control platform, which is designed to coordinate surveillance and response.

Terra plans to expand the deployments as the mining operators bring additional sites online. The deals also give Terra an entry point into a wider market for security technology across Africa, where mining, oil and power companies often operate critical assets in areas with limited security coverage and long response times.

Through its commercial division, Terra is adapting technology developed for defense customers to serve companies that need continuous surveillance and protection for remote or strategically important facilities.

From defense technology to commercial security

Founded in 2024 by Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries develops autonomous systems for land, air and maritime operations. The company operates a 15,000-square-foot facility in Abuja and plans to expand its teams in San Francisco and London.

In August, Terra raised another $18 million as it prepared to establish a large-scale drone manufacturing operation in Ghana. The latest financing brought the company’s total seed funding to $52 million.

The funding comes as Terra looks beyond its Nigerian operations and prepares to build a larger manufacturing base elsewhere in Africa. Its next major project is the Pax-2 factory in Ghana, a 34,000-square-foot facility in Accra, which is expected to open in the fourth quarter.

Terra’s plan for African drone production

The facility in Accra is expected to become Terra’s main regional manufacturing base for drones and counter-drone systems. The company plans to use the plant to expand production of its aerial systems while continuing to operate its existing manufacturing facility in Abuja.

For Terra, the new mining contracts and the planned Ghana factory point to a broader business strategy: build its defense technology in Nigeria, then adapt and manufacture those systems at scale for customers across Africa and other emerging markets.