Humanoids aren’t quite ready to replace factory workers, but industry can’t wait. Manufacturers facing labor shortages have shown increasing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual trade-offs.
There is a bet behind it Thackeran artificial intelligence robotics startup that aims to go beyond robots trained for a single task. “If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, it works perfectly, but most processes don’t,” co-founder Carla Gómez Cano told TechCrunch.
Theker is designed for messi reality. Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form – think Boston Dynamics — Theker’s machines are built to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms, and overall shape can be changed or resized depending on the task, whether it’s sorting packages, packing clothes, or handling bottles and cans in a warehouse.
The signing of Zara’s parent company, Inditex, as an early backer signals where Theker’s ambitions begin, not where they end. The company’s broader goal is to move beyond retail into heavier industrial settings such as manufacturing, where the complexity and scale of handwork is even greater.
This generalist ambition helped consolidate Theker’s status Europe’s hot startups to watch – and increase capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup has just raised $85 million in what it calls “Europe’s largest robotics Series A.” (We also did not find a larger one in our records.)
Less than a year later record seed roundthis Series A was led by American VC firm CRV and backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, an 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 welcome having the Korean company as a customer, supplier and investor at the same time—a trifecta that would give the startup both revenue and credibility in manufacturing at scale.
He also noted that he and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu “didn’t build Theker to run pilots,” so the team is skipping innovation departments entirely and going straight to logistics or operations, where deals are real and timelines are shorter.
To demonstrate that the company can really deliver, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona and plans to open others as it expands in Europe, the US and Asia. It will also increase the number of employees in technology, deployment and sales.
“We’ve already received 15,000 job applications and we’re sifting like crazy,” Gomez Cano said. He estimated the team could grow from a dozen to 120 people by the end of the year, then caught himself: “I say that, but I also said we’d raise $30 or $40 million!”
Theker’s success in doubling its target also reinforces the startup’s confidence in keeping its headquarters in Barcelona. robotics centerand in Europe’s tech ecosystem more broadly. “It’s never been an obstacle for us to accelerate, so we’re making the most of it,” Gomez Cano said.
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