Nigerian cybersecurity startup Aeon has secured $1 million in pre seed funding in a round led by Terra Industries, marking a new step in Terra’s expansion from physical security and critical infrastructure into the digital security space.
The funding round also attracted Resilience17, the investment fund linked to Flutterwave co founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola, along with other investors.
Terra announced the investment on September 18, saying the deal followed a pilot project it carried out with Aeon earlier this year. The partnership also includes a commercial joint venture that will deploy Aeon’s cybersecurity technology across military and commercial operations.
Founded by Samuel Ogbonyomi, Ben Eluan and Alex Idowu, Lagos based Aeon is developing a cybersecurity platform that brings information from different parts of an organisation’s digital environment into one system.
The platform is designed to help organisations identify vulnerabilities across their networks, software code, cloud infrastructure and connected devices, giving security teams a clearer picture of potential risks.
Aeon co founder and Chief Executive Officer Samuel Ogbonyomi said many organisations rely on several security tools without having a single system that shows their overall exposure.
Terra said the partnership will enable it to provide customers with protection that covers both physical infrastructure and the digital systems supporting those operations.
The two companies also plan to jointly pursue government and corporate contracts across the Global South, with Terra concentrating on physical security while Aeon provides the digital and cyber defence capabilities.
The investment comes as African organisations continue to face cyber threats against financial institutions, government agencies and other critical infrastructure.
Terra referenced an INTERPOL assessment which estimated that cyber incidents across Africa had resulted in more than $3 billion in losses since 2019. The assessment identified finance, healthcare, energy and government among the sectors frequently targeted by cybercrime.
Founded in 2024, Terra Industries develops security systems for air, land and maritime operations. Its ArtemisOS software platform is used to manage large scale security operations.
The company said its investment in Aeon forms part of a wider plan to expand its approach to critical infrastructure protection beyond physical assets and into the networks, software and data that support them.
Terra Chief Executive Nathan Nwachuku said the company sees Aeon playing a major role in building cyber defence capabilities for organisations across the Global South.
Through the partnership, both companies intend to combine their strengths as they pursue new government and corporate contracts, with the broader aim of providing integrated protection for the physical and digital infrastructure on which modern operations depend.
