THEKER secures €73 million funding to scale up AI robotics innovation in Barcelona

THEKER, a cutting-edge AI robotics company based in Barcelona, has recently secured a substantial €73 million ($85 million) funding round. The primary objective of this funding is to expedite the deployment of their AI-native generalist robots in industrial production settings. Additionally, the company plans to enhance its proprietary AI and robotics technology stack and expand its team across various disciplines such as software, electronics, mechanical engineering, and deployments.

The funding round was spearheaded by CRV, with notable participation from industry giants like Samsung, LVMH, Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, Korelya, and Bright Pixel Capital (Sonae), alongside existing investors.

Carla Gómez Cano, the co-founder of THEKER, expressed the company’s vision stating, “We didn’t build THEKER to run pilots. We built it to ship robots that work the day they arrive and continue improving every day after. This round accelerates a vision we’ve been building toward from day one: making intelligent, adaptable robotics practical for real industrial operations at a global scale.”

THEKER’s funding announcement aligns with a trend of significant investments in robotics and industrial automation in the current year. Notable mentions include Germany’s RobCo securing €100 million for expanding modular AI-driven robotic manufacturing systems, Stuttgart-based Sereact raising a €93 million Series B to scale its physical AI robotics platform in the US, and Norway/US-based Trener Robotics securing a €26 million Series A to expand its industrial AI automation and robot skills platform.

Reid Christian, general partner at CRV, praised THEKER’s innovative approach, stating, “THEKER is solving one of the most important challenges in robotics: bringing general-purpose AI into real production environments where reliability, adaptability, and scale actually matter. What Carla, Jiaqiang, and the team have built is exceptionally rare, a deeply technical platform paired with real commercial deployment momentum. We believe THEKER has the potential to become one of the defining robotics companies of this generation.”

This latest financing round comes less than a year after THEKER secured the largest seed round in Spanish startup history, showcasing the rapid progression of the company from groundbreaking technology to real-world industrial deployment.

Furthermore, this funding signifies one of CRV’s initial investments in Spain, Samsung’s first-ever investment in a Spanish company, and LVMH’s maiden investment in the Spanish startup ecosystem.

Founded by robotics and AI engineers Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, THEKER aims to establish a new category of industrial robotics: AI-native generalist robots capable of adapting in real-time to changing environments, mixed SKUs, irregular shapes, and operational variability without manual reprogramming.

In contrast to traditional industrial robots that are rigid, task-specific, and costly to reconfigure, THEKER’s systems can be deployed within days, continuously learn in production, and operate autonomously in the complexity of real industrial environments.

Already operational in live production setups across Europe, THEKER’s robots are designed to assist industrial operators in enhancing throughput, reducing downtime, and addressing persistent labor shortages in manufacturing, logistics, and retail sectors.

THEKER’s swift progress reflects a broader trend in robotics and AI. While advancements in foundational AI models have made the concept of generalist robotics feasible, only a few companies worldwide have successfully bridged the gap between research demonstrations and robots capable of operating reliably in real-world production environments at scale.