Joe Lonsdale, a billionaire investor and prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, has spearheaded a funding round that raised $11.7 million for Terrahaptix, a Nigerian defence technology startup focused on strengthening security across Africa.
Lonsdale, who also founded data analytics firm Palantir Technologies, led the investment through 8VC, a venture capital firm he established.
Terrahaptix was launched in 2024 by young Nigerian entrepreneurs Nathan Nwachukwu, 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24, with the aim of addressing rising insecurity and terrorism on the African continent.
According to Nwachukwu, the $11.7 million funding round was anchored by 8VC, with additional backing from firms including Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital GmbH, Silent Ventures LLC, Nova Global, as well as angel investor Melya Malka.
The startup also disclosed that Alex Moore, a non-executive director at Palantir and a senior figure at 8VC, joined Terrahaptix’s board of directors last year.
Based in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Terrahaptix operates a manufacturing facility where it produces defence drones, automated sentry towers, and unmanned ground vehicles designed to monitor critical infrastructure and instantly notify security agencies of potential threats.
As of August 2025, the company had already secured security contracts worth more than $12 million across Africa, protecting key infrastructure assets.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Nwachukwu highlighted Africa’s rapid industrial growth but warned that progress would be undermined without effective security solutions. He described insecurity and terrorism as the continent’s biggest challenges.
“Our goal is to equip Africa with the advanced technology required to safeguard resources and combat terrorism,” he said.
Terrahaptix stated that the new funding will support its expansion across the continent. The company currently provides security technology for Nigeria’s hydropower facilities as well as gold and lithium mining operations in Ghana.
With several commercial and government contracts already in place, the startup said the fresh capital will enable it to scale defence manufacturing across Africa and further develop its data intelligence operating system.
