Theker just raised $85M to build the factory robot that doesnât specialize in anything
Humanoids arenât quite ready to replace factory workers, but the industry canât wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown growing interest in startups that
Humanoids arenât quite ready to replace factory workers, but the industry canât wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown growing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual tradeoffs. Thatâs the bet behind Theker, an AI robotics startup that aims to go beyond robots trained for a single task. âIf you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes arenât like that,â co-founder Carla GĂłmez Cano told TechCrunch. Theker is designed for that messier reality. Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form â think Boston Dynamics â Thekerâs machines are built to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms, and overall form can be swapped out or resized depending on the task, whether thatâs sorting packages, packing clothing, or handling bottles and cans in a warehouse.
That Inditex, Zaraâs parent company, signed on as an early backer is a signal of where Thekerâs ambitions start, not where they end. The companyâs broader goal is to move beyond retail into heavier industrial settings like manufacturing, where the complexity and scale of manual tasks is even greater. This generalist ambition has helped cement Thekerâs status as one of Europeâs hot startups to watch â and raise capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup has just raised $85 million in what itâs calling âEuropeâs largest ever robotics Series A.â (We havenât found a larger one in our records, either.) Less than a year after a record seed round, this Series A was led by American VC firm CRV and backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and AglaĂ© Ventures, the investment vehicle tied to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.
GĂłmez Cano said Samsung is not a client yet but that the two are in advanced discussions. Theker would welcome having the Korean company as a customer, supplier, and investor simultaneously â a trifecta that would give the startup both revenue and credibility in manufacturing at scale. She also noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu âdidnât build Theker to run pilots,â so the team skips innovation departments entirely and goes straight to logistics or operations, where deals are real and timelines are shorter. To demonstrate that the company can actually deliver on that, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona, and plans to open others as it expands across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. It will also grow its headcount across tech, deployment, and sales.
