Samsung joins €85 million Series A for Barcelona robotics startup

Theker, a Barcelona‑based AI robotics company, announced a €85 million ($85 million) Series A funding round led by CRV, with Samsung and luxury group LVMH among the investors [2]. The company says the capital will accelerate deployment of its AI‑native generalist robots across industrial settings.

Key takeaways

• Theker raised €85 million in a Series A round, the largest robotics Series A in Europe [2].
• Lead investor is US venture firm CRV; other participants include Samsung, LVMH’s Aglaé Ventures, Cathay Innovation, 20VC and Henkel Ventures [2].
• The robots are marketed as “AI‑native generalist” machines that can adapt in real time to changing environments, targeting logistics, retail, food‑beverage and waste‑management sectors [2].
• Existing backers Inditex and Kibo Ventures also participated, and the company plans to expand its team and deepen its AI‑robotics stack [2].
• Samsung’s involvement marks its first investment in a Spanish startup, while LVMH also makes its inaugural Spanish bet [3].

Funding round and investor lineup

The €85 million round was announced on 11 June 2026 and was spearheaded by the US venture capital firm CRV [2]. Samsung and LVMH’s venture arm Aglaé Ventures joined as strategic corporate investors, alongside a slate of other backers such as Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, and existing supporters Inditex and Kibo Ventures [2]. The round follows a seed round of €18 million raised less than a year earlier, positioning Theker as the recipient of the largest robotics Series A financing in Europe to date [4].

Technology and deployment plans

Theker describes its robots as “AI‑native generalist” devices that combine deep‑learning vision, control systems and large language models to operate without extensive reprogramming [2]. This approach is intended to let a single robot perform varied tasks across sectors such as logistics, retail, food‑beverage and waste management, addressing labour shortages in manufacturing and retail environments [2]. The company already reports live deployments with customers including Inditex, and plans to use the new funds to speed up roll‑outs with industrial operators, deepen its proprietary AI stack, and grow hiring across software, electronics, mechanical engineering and deployment teams [2][4].

Why it matters

The investment signals growing confidence in European AI‑driven robotics, and highlights Samsung’s first foray into Spanish startups, suggesting larger corporates see strategic value in autonomous factory solutions [3]. By securing a sizable Series A, Theker aims to bridge the gap between laboratory prototypes and reliable, commercial‑grade robots, a hurdle that many peers have struggled to cross [3]. Continued deployment and performance validation will determine whether Theker can fulfil its claim of delivering adaptable, production‑ready robots at scale.