One of President Donald Trump’s most vocal and affluent supporters, Joe Lonsdale, has spearheaded an investment round that raised $11.7 million for Terrahaptix, a Nigerian startup focused on building defence drones to enhance security systems across Africa. Lonsdale is also the founder of Palantir Technologies.
Terrahaptix was co-founded by 22-year-old Nathan Nwachukwu and 24-year-old Maxwell Maduka in 2024, aiming to address the pressing issues of terrorism and insecurity plaguing the continent. Nwachukwu stated, “Terrahaptix secured $11.7 million in a funding round led by 8VC, a company founded by Mr Lonsdale.”
In addition to Lonsdale’s firm, other notable investors in Terrahaptix include Valor Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, Leblon Capital GmbH, Silent Ventures LLC, Nova Global, and angel investor Melya Malka.
Alex Moore, a non-executive director at Palantir and a key figure at 8VC, joined Terrahaptix’s board of directors last year, according to a statement from the startup.
With its factory located in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Terrahaptix produces drones, sentry towers, and unmanned ground vehicles designed to detect threats to infrastructure assets and instantly alert security agencies. As of August 2025, the startup had previously secured contracts valued at over $12 million for guarding infrastructure in Africa.
“Africa is industrialising faster than any other region, with new mines, refineries, and power plants emerging every month. But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles’ heel, which is insecurity and terrorism,” Nwachukwu remarked in a Bloomberg report. He added that Terrahaptix’s mission is “to give Africa the technological edge needed for resource protection and counterterrorism.”
The new funding will be utilised to expand Terrahaptix’s operations across Africa. The startup has already provided security solutions to Nigeria’s hydropower facilities and Ghana’s gold and lithium mining factories. “Today, Terrahaptix has millions of dollars in commercial and government contracts. With this funding, we will ramp up defence production across Africa and scale our data intelligence OS,” he stated.
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