Three Startups Land Fresh Capital Across Solar, Defence and Farm Robotics

Terra Industries adds $18 million

Nigerian defence-tech startup Terra Industries has raised an additional $18 million in seed funding, bringing its total seed capital to $52 million, Ventureburn reported. The round drew returning investors 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel, alongside new backers Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon.

Terra was founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka and emerged from stealth in January 2026 with an $11.75 million round led by 8VC. The company plans to use the capital to expand manufacturing capacity and accelerate deployments, and to hire across engineering, operations and business development. Part of the expansion centres on Ghana, where Terra is preparing to open its 34,000-square-foot Pax-2 manufacturing facility in Accra, more than twice the size of its Abuja plant. The company expects the Ghana site to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Versatile RobotX secures over €1.17 million

Versatile RobotX, a Colchester-based robotics startup, has secured more than €1.17 million (£1 million) to advance the commercialisation of its agricultural robots, EU-Startups reported. The investment combines funding from the British Design Fund with support from Innovate UK Growth Catalyst Investor Partnerships Round 2 and grants from the Defra Farming Innovation Programme.

A University of Essex spin-out, the company was founded in July 2024 by Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier and Dr Vishwanathan Mohan. Its robots combine artificial intelligence, machine vision, embedded intelligence and robotic manipulation to automate labour-intensive farming tasks. McDonald-Maier, the company's chief executive, said the funding reflects the confidence shown by investors, Innovate UK, Defra, Freeport East and the University of Essex, and will help the company move from field trials to commercial deployment.