African defence technology startup Terra has raised $22 million in a follow-on round completed in under two weeks, barely a month after closing an $11.8 million funding round.
- African defence startup Terra has raised $22 million just weeks after closing an $11.8 million round, pushing its valuation above $100 million.
- The round was led by Lux Capital with participation from Africa’s fintech leaders and global investors including Olugbenga Agboola and Jared Leto.
- Founded in 2024, Terra builds autonomous drones, sentry towers and unmanned vehicles powered by its software platform ArtemisOS.
- The company plans major manufacturing expansion in Abuja and Saudi Arabia as demand for local defence systems grows across Africa.
The rapid extension brings the company’s total funding to $34 million and pushes its valuation above $100 million, a rare milestone for a hardware startup founded just two years ago.
The speed of the raise is unusual by African startup standards, where companies often spend months or even years securing follow-on capital.
Backed by Silicon Valley and Africa’s fintech elite
The new round was led by Lux Capital, with repeat participation from 8VC, Nova Global and Silent Ventures. New investors include Belief Capital, Tofino Capital and Resilience17 Capital, founded by Flutterwave chief executive Olugbenga Agboola. Angel investors Jordan Nel and Hollywood actor Jared Leto also joined the round.
Lux Capital recently raised $1.5 billion and has backed major US defence technology firms. Its continued support signals growing investor confidence in Terra’s model.
Investor appetite intensified after Terra demonstrated faster-than-expected commercial traction, according to the company’s leadership.
Building Africa’s defence infrastructure
Founded in 2024 by 22-year-old chief executive Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, 24, Terra designs and manufactures autonomous drones, sentry towers and unmanned ground vehicles.
These systems are integrated through its proprietary software platform, ArtemisOS, which enables real-time threat detection and coordinated response across land, air and maritime environments.
“Africa is industrialising faster than any other region,” Nwachuku said. “But none of that progress will matter if we don’t solve the continent’s greatest Achilles’ heel, which is insecurity and terrorism.”
The company says its systems currently secure infrastructure assets valued at approximately $11 billion. It has signed contracts worth tens of millions of dollars across multiple African countries and generated more than $2.5 million in commercial revenue.
Africa holds about 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves and spends an estimated $100 billion annually on infrastructure. Much of that investment is concentrated in remote or volatile regions where power plants, mines and transport corridors face sabotage, illegal mining and militant attacks.
Governments often rely on imported defence systems from Russia, China or Western suppliers. These can be expensive to maintain and expose operators to supply-chain and geopolitical risks.
Terra is positioning itself as a vertically integrated local alternative, similar in structure to US defence technology companies such as Anduril Industries and Palantir Technologies.
Scaling production in Africa and beyond
The new capital will be used to expand Terra’s Abuja manufacturing facility, accelerate deployments across allied African countries, and hire senior engineering and business leaders across Africa, London and San Francisco.
The company plans to scale production to 40,000 drones annually. It is also preparing to develop a larger manufacturing facility, although the location has not yet been disclosed.
In addition, Terra recently announced a partnership with AIC Steel, a Saudi industrial group, to establish a joint manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. The move marks its first production base outside Africa and provides access to Middle Eastern markets while maintaining its focus on African infrastructure security.
A capital-intensive bet
The defence-tech industry worldwide requires massive capital, with many autonomous systems companies raising billions before they mature.
In that context, Terra’s $34 million total funding is small compared to global peers but stands out within Africa’s still-nascent defence technology landscape.
Backed by major Silicon Valley investors and leading African tech figures, the startup is positioning itself to meet growing demand for homegrown security solutions as infrastructure development intensifies across the continent.
