The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2022–2026
Theker bets generalist robots beat task-specific ones; $85M Series A, Inditex backer
Barcelona's Theker builds reconfigurable AI robots for factories; $85M Series A, Europe's largest robotics Series A, backed by CRV, Samsung, LVMH and Inditex.
Theker
What the business is
Theker builds AI-native generalist industrial robots whose hands, arms and overall form can be swapped or resized per task — sorting packages, packing clothing, handling bottles — targeting logistics, retail, food and beverage, and waste management.
Starting capital：€18M seed (less than a year before the Series A) followed by an $85M Series A led by CRV (June 2026), with Samsung, Aglaé/LVMH, Cathay Innovation, 20VC and Henkel Ventures joining existing backers Inditex and Kibo Ventures.
How it started
Co-founders Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu founded Theker in Barcelona in 2022, betting that most industrial processes are not 'the same cookie in the same box' — they wanted robots that adapt in real time rather than machines trained for one task. A seed round of €18M landed less than a year before the Series A, and Inditex signed on as an early backer.
What happened
In June 2026 Theker announced an $85M Series A led by US VC CRV — which it calls Europe's largest robotics Series A — with Samsung, Aglaé (LVMH), Cathay Innovation, 20VC and Henkel Ventures joining Inditex and Kibo Ventures as participants. The company planned showrooms in central Barcelona and other cities across Europe, the US and Asia, and growth from dozens toward up to 120 people by year-end; Samsung was in advanced discussions to become customer, supplier and investor at once.
How it ended up
Scaling: the $85M Series A closed in June 2026 with Inditex as an early backer; Theker was deploying in logistics and retail to address labor shortages, with no revenue figures disclosed.
Background
Theker is a bet that industrial automation's bottleneck is not capability but rigidity. Co-founders Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu built AI-native generalist robots whose hands, arms and overall form can be swapped or resized depending on the task — sorting packages, packing clothing, handling bottles and cans — instead of the fixed, task-specific machines that dominate factories.
The founding insight was that most industrial processes are not 'the same cookie in the same box': labor shortages mean manufacturers cannot wait for humanoids, but single-purpose robots break whenever the product or process changes. Theker's answer is a machine that adapts in real time, and the team sells straight to logistics and operations rather than running pilots with innovation departments.
Investors bought the argument. After an €18M seed less than a year earlier, Theker announced an $85M Series A on 2026-06-11 — which it calls Europe's largest robotics Series A — led by CRV, with Samsung, Aglaé (LVMH), Cathay Innovation, 20VC and Henkel Ventures joining existing backers Inditex and Kibo Ventures. Inditex, Zara's parent, signing on early signals where the ambitions start: retail logistics, then heavier industrial settings.
As of the round, Theker planned showrooms across Europe, the US and Asia, growth from dozens toward up to 120 people by year-end, and deeper work on its proprietary AI and robotics stack. Samsung was in advanced discussions to become a customer, supplier and investor simultaneously — a trifecta the founders said would bring both revenue and manufacturing credibility at scale.
What has to be true
- The founders targeted the messiest, most common industrial reality — processes that change — rather than the demo-friendly single-task case.
- Modular form (swap hands, arms, size) is a sharper contrast to both fixed industrial arms and humanoids than another human-shaped robot.
- Inditex as an early backer and participant gives the pitch a named, credible retail-logistics anchor.
- Selling directly to logistics and operations, skipping pilot programs, shortens the path from demo to real deployment deals.
What can be applied
When competitors chase the same form factor, the wedge is the opposite axis: make robots more modular, not more human, and sell adaptability to operations teams tired of pilots.
Aftermath
As of 2026-06-11, Theker is scaling from Barcelona: the $85M Series A — Europe's largest robotics Series A by its own account — funds accelerated deployments, a deeper AI and robotics stack, and headcount growth across software, electronics, mechanical engineering and deployments. Inditex remains an early backer, Samsung is in advanced discussions to become a customer, and the company planned showrooms across Europe, the US and Asia. Revenue figures had not been disclosed.
Sources
- Theker just raised $85M to build the factory robot that doesn't specialize in anything
- Barcelona-based AI robotics outfit Theker raises $85M
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