Robotics startup, Terrahaptix, announced that it will be shutting down its defense division.
Beginning today, the company will no longer develop or research military systems as it shifts focus to serving the global commercial market. In the 4 months since starting full operations, Terrahaptix has recorded almost $1M in revenue from commercial customers.
The company recently unveiled its flagship surveillance drone, Archer, and an automation operating software, Artemis, which were meant to be dual-use products. With today’s news, we can assume that Archer and Artemis will be solely focused on commercial applications.
“Since we launched this company, the board has been deliberating what kind of legacy we want to leave behind. We do not want ethical disasters in our hands.” – Co-founder, Nathan Nwachuku says in a press release. “As we get ready to launch our Abuja manufacturing facility, we want to produce low-cost, mobile robots and automate core industries globally, not fight wars”.
Automation & Robotics are now transforming the critical industries our civilization runs on such as Energy, Construction, Mining, and Agriculture- making up a $268.4B market globally. So it makes sense for Terrahaptix to refocus its strategy towards the commercial market where there is less friction, unlike Defense.
This move now puts Terrahaptix in direct competition with global players such as US Boston Dynamics and Chinese giant DJI. The company’s strategy of using Africa as a manufacturing base for low-cost, high-volume production will now be put to the ultimate test.
