African defensetech Terra Industries, founded by two Gen Zers, raises $22M more per month

Just a month after raising $11.75 million in a round led by Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC, Africa’s Terra Industries announced that it has raised another $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 to help African countries monitor and respond to threats.

Terrorism is still one of the biggest threats in Africa, but the security intelligence their countries rely on comes from Russia, China, or the West. In January, CEO Nwachuku said his goal was to build “the first defense base in Africa, to build independent defense systems and other systems to protect our critical infrastructure and resources from armed attacks.”

At the time, Terra had just won its first government contract. The company has government and commercial clients, and Nwachuku said Terra has brought in more than $2.5 million and protects assets worth about $11 billion.

He said this round of expansion came quickly because of “strong momentum.” Other investors in the round include 8VC, Nova Global, and Resiliience17 Capital, founded by Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola. Nwachuku said investors have seen “faster than expected” in terms of agreements and collaborations, which has created an urgency to look ahead and increase their commitment. The round took place in less than two weeks, bringing the company’s funding to $34 million.

The extended promotion is not that surprising. After all, building a defense company is not cheap. In comparison, Anduril has raised more than $2.5 billion; ShieldAI has raised about $1 billion in equity; Drone maker Skydio raised about $740 million, while private marine maker Saronic raised about $830 million.

Since January, Nwachuku said the company has started spreading to other African countries yet to be announced (Terra is based in Nigeria), and has received government and commercial contracts, including AIC Steel, and others will be revealed this year.

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

“What is important is to work with countries where terrorism and infrastructure security are the main concerns of the country,” added Nwachuku, citing especially those in sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel. He said many of these companies have not only lost billions in infrastructure, but also thousands of lives over the past few decades.

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