Theker just raised $85M to build the factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything

Humanoids aren’t quite ready to replace factory workers, but the industry can’t wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown increasing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual compromises.

That’s the bet behind it Thekeran AI robotics startup that wants to go beyond just robots trained for one task. “If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes aren’t like that,” co-founder Carla Gómez Cano told TechCrunch.

Theker is designed for that messier reality. Unlike humanoid robots that are designed around a fixed shape – think Boston Dynamics – Theker machines are built to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms and overall shape can be swapped or enlarged depending on the task, whether it’s sorting packages, packing clothes or handling bottles and cans in a warehouse.

That Inditex, Zara’s parent company, signed on as an early backer is a signal of where Theker’s ambitions begin, not where they end. The company’s broader goal is to expand beyond retail and into heavier industrial environments such as manufacturing, where the complexity and scale of manual tasks are even greater.

This generalist ambition has helped cement Theker’s status as one of Europe’s hottest startups to watch – and raise capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup just raised $85 million in what it calls “Europe’s largest ever robotics Series A.” (We haven’t found a larger one in our records either.)

Less than a year later a record seed roundThis Series A was led by US venture capital firm CRV and backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, the investment vehicle linked to LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault.

Gómez Cano said Samsung is not yet a customer, but the two are in advanced discussions. Theker would appreciate having the Korean company as a customer, supplier and investor all at the same time – a trifecta that would give the startup both revenue and credibility in large-scale manufacturing.

She also noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu “didn’t build Theker to do pilots,” so the team is skipping the innovation departments entirely and going 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 more as the company continues to expand across Europe, the US and Asia. It will also expand its workforce in technology, implementation and sales.

“We have already received 15,000 applications and have to filter like crazy,” says Gómez Cano. She estimated that the team could grow from dozens to 120 people by the end of the year, but then caught herself: “I say that, but I also said we’d raise $30 or $40 million!”

That Theker managed to increase its target twice also strengthens the startup’s conviction to maintain its headquarters in Barcelona, ​​a growing business robotics huband in the European technology ecosystem more broadly. “It has never been an obstacle to acceleration for us, so we are making the most of it,” Gómez Cano said.