THEKER raises €73M for AI robotics: the largest Series A in Spain

What happened?

THEKER, the AI robotics startup based in Barcelona, has announced the closing of a €73 million ($85 million) Series A funding round. The round is led by CRV, with participation from Samsung, LVMH, Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, Korelya, and Bright Pixel Capital (Sonae), alongside existing investors. According to EU-Startups, this is the largest Series A round in Spain's history and one of the largest in robotics and AI in Europe so far this year.

The company was founded by Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, engineers with experience in robotics and AI. THEKER had already closed the largest seed round in Spain's history less than a year ago, underscoring the speed of its growth. This financial milestone comes amid growing investor interest in intelligent automation: in 2026, European AI robotics startups such as RobCo (Germany) raised €100 million, Sereact €93 million, and Trener Robotics €26 million, according to EU-Startups. THEKER's round, however, stands out for its size and the participation of giants like Samsung and LVMH, which invest for the first time in a Spanish startup.

Why is it important?

THEKER is not a traditional robotics startup. Its value proposition focuses on generalist AI-native robots capable of adapting in real time to changing environments, manipulating irregularly shaped objects, and operating with variability without manual reprogramming. This contrasts with classical industrial robots, which are rigid, task-specific, and costly to reconfigure. While traditional robots require weeks of programming for each new task, THEKER's robots are deployed in days and continuously learn in production, according to the company.

The investment from Samsung and LVMH is especially significant: Samsung invests for the first time in a Spanish company, and LVMH does the same in Spain's startup ecosystem. This indicates that THEKER's technology has potential applications in both consumer electronics (Samsung) and luxury goods (LVMH), sectors with high precision and flexibility requirements. For example, in mobile phone manufacturing or luxury item assembly, robots must handle delicate components and frequent design variations. Additionally, the participation of Henkel Ventures (industrial chemicals) and Bright Pixel Capital (logistics) suggests cross-sector interest in manufacturing, logistics, and retail.

The historical context reinforces the importance: industrial robotics has been dominated for decades by companies like ABB, Fanuc, and KUKA, whose robots require highly structured environments. The emergence of startups like THEKER, which integrate AI to offer flexibility, represents a paradigm shift similar to cloud computing versus traditional data centers. According to the International Federation of Robotics, robot density in European manufacturing grew by 10% in 2025, but most are rigid robots. AI promises to unlock applications in sectors like logistics, where environments are unpredictable.

What consequences will it have?

For THEKER, the €73 million will accelerate deployment with top-tier industrial operators, deepen its proprietary AI and robotics stack, and expand its team in software, electronics, mechanical engineering, and deployments. The company claims its robots are already operating in real production plants in Europe, helping to increase throughput, reduce downtime, and address labor shortages. According to statements from co-founder Carla Gómez Cano reported by EU-Startups: “We didn't build THEKER to run pilots. We built it to ship robots that work the day they arrive and keep improving every day after.”

For the Spanish ecosystem, this round reinforces Barcelona's position as a robotics and AI hub in Europe, competing with ecosystems like Munich or Zurich. It may also attract more international investors to Spanish deep tech startups, a sector that has traditionally received less capital than software. According to Dealroom data, deep tech investment in Spain was €500 million in 2025, compared to €2 billion in France or Germany. THEKER's round could catalyze a shift in this trend.

For the industry, THEKER's technology could accelerate the adoption of flexible robots in manufacturing, logistics, and retail, displacing traditional robots in applications requiring adaptability. However, it remains to be seen whether its platform scales reliably in high-demand environments. Competition is intense: besides the aforementioned European startups, giants like Tesla (with its Optimus robot) and US startups like Figure AI (which raised $675 million in 2025) are also pursuing generalist robots. Nevertheless, THEKER differentiates itself by focusing on real industrial environments, while others focus on logistics or warehouses.

At the market level, AI robotics could reduce automation costs by up to 40% for complex manipulation tasks, according to McKinsey estimates. This could drive adoption among SMEs, which have so far found traditional robot investment prohibitive. However, the risk of job displacement is real: it is estimated that by 2030, up to 20 million manufacturing jobs could be affected by intelligent automation, although new roles in maintenance and supervision will also be created.

What should readers know?

• Technology: THEKER builds generalist AI-native robots that continuously learn in production and are deployed in days, not months. Its proprietary stack combines computer vision, reinforcement learning, and real-time control.
• Team: Founded by Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, both engineers with backgrounds in robotics at institutions like MIT and CSIC. The team has over 50 engineers.
• Investors: CRV leads the round; Samsung and LVMH invest for the first time in a Spanish startup. Other investors include Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, Korelya, and Bright Pixel Capital (Sonae).
• Context: It is the largest Spanish Series A and one of the largest in European robotics in 2026. The previous seed round was also a record in Spain.
• Risks: The technology still needs to prove its reliability at scale; competition in AI robotics is intense (Tesla, Figure AI, RobCo, Sereact). Additionally, integration into legacy environments can be complex.

“We didn't build THEKER to run pilots. We built it to ship robots that work the day they arrive and keep improving every day after,” says Carla Gómez Cano.

In summary, THEKER's round is not only a financial milestone but a symptom of a deeper transformation in industrial automation. If the startup manages to scale its technology, it could redefine standards of flexibility and efficiency in manufacturing, logistics, and retail, directly competing with traditional robots and opening new applications. However, the path to mass adoption still faces technical and market challenges. The next 12-18 months will be critical to validate whether its platform can operate reliably in hundreds of plants.