Barcelona-based AI robotics startup Theker has raised $85 million (€73 million) in what the company claims is the largest Series A funding round ever secured by a European robotics company, as investors continue to back AI applications in industrial automation.
The funding round was led by venture capital firm CRV and included participation from Samsung, LVMH, Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, Korelya, and Bright Pixel Capital, among others.
Founded in Barcelona by robotics and AI engineers Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, Theker develops AI-powered industrial robots designed to operate in dynamic production environments. The company says its systems use proprietary AI and robotics technology to adapt to changing conditions without the extensive reprogramming typically required by conventional industrial robots.
“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,” said Carla Gómez Cano, Co-founder of Theker Robotics, in a statement. “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.”
According to the company, the new capital will be used to accelerate deployments with large industrial operators, strengthen its AI and robotics platform, and expand teams across software, electronics, mechanical engineering and operations.
The fundraising comes less than a year after Theker completed an estimated $20.82 million (€18 million) seed round, underscoring growing investor interest in physical AI technologies that bring artificial intelligence into real-world industrial settings.
“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,” said Reid Christian, General Partner at CRV.
“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,” he added.
The company said its robots are already operating in manufacturing, logistics, and retail environments across Europe, helping businesses improve productivity and address labour shortages.
Theker said the investment will help it scale deployments globally and advance the development of general-purpose AI-native robots for industrial applications.
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