Terra Industries, a Nigerian defense technology startup developing autonomous security systems for critical infrastructure across Africa, has raised an additional $22 million in funding led by U.S.-based venture capital firm Lux Capital, the company said on Tuesday.
The investment extends Terra’s previously announced $11.8 million round, bringing total funding in the round to $34 million.
Existing investors 8VC, Nova Global, Silent Ventures, Belief Capital, Tofino Capital and Resilience17 Capital — founded by Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola — participated in the extension, alongside angel investors including Jordan Nel and Jared Leto.
The round was completed in under two weeks, reflecting what the company described as strong investor confidence in its mission to address insecurity and protect critical infrastructure across the continent.
Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku, 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24, Terra Industries designs and manufactures autonomous land, air and maritime security systems. Its technology is currently deployed to protect power plants, mines and other nationally significant assets in multiple African countries.
Africa holds roughly 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves and invests an estimated $100 billion annually in infrastructure development. However, much of this expansion is occurring in remote and unstable regions where security risks — including infrastructure sabotage, illegal mining, organized crime and terrorism — remain persistent.
“Africa is industrializing faster than any other region,” said Nwachuku, Terra’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “But that progress depends on solving insecurity and terrorism, which remain the continent’s greatest vulnerabilities.”
Governments and infrastructure operators across Africa often rely on imported security systems, which can be costly to maintain and may present supply chain or data sovereignty concerns.
Terra says it is building what it describes as Africa’s first vertically integrated defense technology platform tailored to local operating conditions. Its portfolio includes autonomous drones, sentry towers and unmanned ground vehicles, connected through ArtemisOS, the company’s proprietary software platform designed for real-time threat detection and coordinated response.
The company said it currently secures infrastructure assets valued at approximately $11 billion and has secured contracts worth tens of millions of dollars across public and private sectors.
Terra operates a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Abuja and says its engineering team is composed primarily of African talent.
The new funding will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, scale deployments in Nigeria and other African markets, and grow its engineering and business development teams across Africa, London and San Francisco.
“We believe local defense technology is essential because security underpins economic growth,” said Brandon Reeves, partner at Lux Capital.
Terra Industries was founded in 2024 and focuses on security solutions for energy, mining, maritime assets, urban infrastructure, border security and counterterrorism operations.