African defense tech Terra Industries, founded by two Gen Zers, raises additional $22M in a month

Just one month after raising $11.75 million in a round led by Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC, African defence tech Terra Industries says it has secured an additional $22 million in funding, led by Lux Capital.

Nathan Nwachuku, 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24, launched Terra Industries in 2024 to design infrastructure and autonomous systems that help African nations monitor, detect, and respond to threats.

Terrorism remains one of the biggest security challenges across Africa, yet much of the intelligence infrastructure on which many countries depend is sourced from Russia, China, or Western nations. In January, CEO Nwachuku said his ambition was to build “Africa’s first defence prime,” focused on autonomous defence systems and other solutions that protect critical infrastructure and resources from armed attacks.

At the time, Terra had just secured its first federal contract. The company works with both government and commercial clients, and Nwachuku said Terra had already generated more than $2.5 million in commercial revenue while safeguarding assets valued at roughly $11 billion.

He said the extension round came together quickly due to “strong momentum.” Additional investors include 8VC, Nova Global, and Resilience17, which Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola founded. Nwachuku said investors saw “faster-than-expected traction” in deals and partnerships, creating urgency to proactively increase commitments. The round was completed in just under two weeks, bringing Terra’s total funding to $34 million.

The expanded raise is not entirely surprising. Building a defence company is capital-intensive. For comparison, Anduril has raised more than $2.5 billion; Shield AI has raised around $1 billion in equity; drone maker Skydio has raised about $740 million; and naval autonomous vessel maker Saronic has raised roughly $830 million.

Since January, Nwachuku said the company has begun expanding into other African nations, though the countries have not yet been announced (Terra is based in Nigeria). He added that Terra has also secured additional government and commercial contracts, including with AIC Steel, with further developments expected to be announced later this year.

The partnership with AIC Steel enables Terra to establish a joint manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia to build surveillance infrastructure and security systems. “It’s our first major manufacturing expansion outside Africa,” he said.

“The priority is working with countries where terrorism and infrastructure security are major national concerns,” Nwachuku added, pointing in particular to the sub-Saharan African and Sahel region. He said many of these countries have lost not only billions in infrastructure but also thousands of lives over the past few decades.

“We’re focused on targeting major economies where the need for infrastructure security is urgent and where our solutions can make a meaningful impact. That’s how we think about expansion.”