In a remarkable feat for Africa’s hardware startup ecosystem, Terra, a defence technology company, has raised $22 million in under two weeks, following an $11.8 million round just a month earlier. The rapid follow-on brings total funding to $34 million and pushes Terra’s valuation past $100 million, a rare milestone for a startup barely two years old.
The pace of the raise is extraordinary by African standards, where securing follow-on capital can take months or even years. The round was led by Lux Capital, with repeat participation from 8VC, Nova Global, and Silent Ventures, while new investors include Belief Capital, Tofino Capital, and Resilience17 Capital, founded by Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola. Angel investors Jordan Nel and Hollywood actor Jared Leto also joined the syndicate.
Lux Capital, which recently raised $1.5 billion and backs major U.S. defence tech firms, signals strong confidence in Terra’s model. Investor enthusiasm accelerated after the company demonstrated faster-than-expected commercial traction, according to its leadership.
Building Africa’s Defence Infrastructure
Founded in 2024 by 22-year-old Nathan Nwachuku and 24-year-old Maxwell Maduka, Terra designs and manufactures autonomous drones, sentry towers, and unmanned ground vehicles. Its proprietary ArtemisOS platform enables real-time threat detection and coordinated responses across land, air, and maritime domains.
“Africa is industrialising faster than any other region,” said Nwachuku. “But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles’ heel: insecurity and terrorism.”
Terra’s systems currently safeguard infrastructure assets valued at $11 billion, with contracts across multiple African countries generating more than $2.5 million in commercial revenue.
Africa holds roughly 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves and spends an estimated $100 billion annually on infrastructure. Much of this investment is concentrated in remote or volatile regions, where power plants, mines, and transport corridors face sabotage, illegal mining, and militant attacks. Governments have traditionally relied on imported defence systems from Russia, China, or Western suppliers, expensive, complex, and geopolitically sensitive.
Terra positions itself as a vertically integrated local alternative, echoing U.S. defence tech firms such as Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies.
Scaling Production in Africa and Beyond
The new funding will expand Terra’s Abuja manufacturing facility, accelerate deployments across allied African nations, and recruit senior engineering and business talent across Africa, London, and San Francisco.
The company plans to scale production to 40,000 drones annually and is preparing a larger manufacturing facility, location TBD. In addition, Terra recently partnered with AIC Steel, a Saudi industrial group, to establish its first production base outside Africa, opening doors to Middle Eastern markets while maintaining focus on African infrastructure security.
Backed by Silicon Valley and Africa’s Tech Elite
The global defence-tech sector is capital-intensive, often requiring billions of dollars before companies reach maturity. Within this context, Terra’s $34 million total funding is modest compared to global peers, but exceptional for Africa’s nascent defence technology landscape.
With backing from major Silicon Valley investors and leading African tech figures, Terra is positioning itself to meet the continent’s growing demand for homegrown security solutions, ensuring that as Africa industrializes, it does so with infrastructure that is safe, autonomous, and resilient.
