Theker just raised $85 million to build a factory robot that specializes in nothing

Human beings are not quite ready to replace factory workers, but industry cannot wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown increasing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual trade-offs.

That’s the bet behind Theker, an AI robotics startup that aims to go beyond robots trained to do a single task. “If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes don’t,” Carla Gomez Cano, co-founder of TechCrunch, told TechCrunch.

Theker is designed for this more chaotic reality. Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed shape — such as Boston Dynamics — Thicker’s machines are designed to be reconfigurable. Their hands, arms, and general shape can be swapped or sized depending on the task, whether it’s sorting packages, packing clothes, or handling bottles and cans in the warehouse.

The signing of Inditex, Zara’s parent company, as an early backer is a sign of where Theker’s ambitions begin, not where they end. The company’s broader goal is to move beyond retail into heavy industrial environments such as manufacturing, where the complexity and volume of manual tasks is greater.

This overall ambition has helped cement Theker’s position as one of Europe’s interesting startups – and raise capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup has raised $85 million in what it calls Europe’s “largest robotics Series A ever.” (We didn’t find a larger number in our records either.)

Less than a year after a record seed round, US company CRV has led this Series A and is backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, the investment vehicle linked to LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault.

Gomez Cano said Samsung is not a client yet but they are in advanced discussions. Theker would welcome the Korean company’s presence as a customer, supplier and investor all at once — a trifecta that would give the startup revenue and credibility in large-scale manufacturing.

She also noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Yi Zhu “didn’t build Theker to run pilots,” so the team is bypassing innovation departments entirely and going straight to logistics or operations, where the deals are real and timelines are shorter.

To prove that the company can achieve this, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona, ​​and plans to open another showroom as it expands throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. It will also grow its headcount across technology, publishing and sales.

“We have already received 15,000 job applications and we have to filter like crazy,” Gomez Cano said. She estimated that the team could grow from a dozen to as many as 120 people by the end of the year, then realized to herself: “I’m saying that, but I also said we’re going to raise $30 or $40 million!”

Theker’s success in raising its target twice also reinforces the startup’s conviction to maintain its headquarters in Barcelona, ​​a growing robotics hub, and in Europe’s tech ecosystem more broadly. “This was not an obstacle to acceleration for us, so we are making the most of it,” Gomez Cano said.