Sonae’s Bright Pixel participates in Europe’s largest Series A robotics funding round through its investment in Theker.
Bright Pixel Capital, the technology investment arm of the Sonae group, has announced its investment in Theker as part of the Barcelona-based robotics and artificial intelligence company’s US$85 million Series A funding round, marking the largest Series A round ever conducted by a robotics company in Europe.
The round was led by CRV and also included participation from investors such as Samsung, LVMH, Cathay Innovation, 20VC, Henkel Ventures, Korelya, and Bright Pixel Capital, along with existing investors including Inditex, Kfund, Kibo Ventures, and Mission.
Founded by engineers Carla Gómez Cano and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, Theker is developing a new generation of native AI-powered generalist robots designed to operate in complex industrial environments and adapt in real time to different tasks, products, and operating conditions, without the need for manual reprogramming.
The company’s technology is already implemented in real industrial operations across several European markets, contributing to increased productivity, reduced downtime, and addressing the growing labor shortage in sectors such as industry, logistics, and retail.
This investment reinforces Bright Pixel Capital’s strategy of supporting technology companies that are redefining traditional sectors through artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced software, focusing on teams with strong execution capabilities and global ambition.
“Theker combines three characteristics that we look for in the companies we invest in: differentiating technology, proven execution capabilities, and the potential to lead a category on a global scale.
The team has managed to transform advances in artificial intelligence and robotics into solutions already implemented in real industrial environments, demonstrating a rare maturity at this stage of growth. We are very excited to support the next stage of their expansion,” says Miguel Bagulho, Director of Bright Pixel Capital.
Less than a year after completing the largest seed round in the history of Spanish startups, Theker has now reached a new milestone, consolidating itself as one of the most relevant European companies in the field of robotics based on artificial intelligence.
According to Carla Gómez Cano, co-founder of Theker, “we built Theker to put robots that work from day one in real productive environments and that continue to improve continuously. This round allows us to accelerate our vision of making intelligent and adaptable robotics a reality on a global scale.”
For Theker, the investment will allow it to accelerate the implementation of its technology with leading industrial operators, strengthen the development of its proprietary AI and robotics platform, and expand the team in the areas of software, electronics, mechanical engineering, and operations.
Source: Sonae; Credits: Sonae.
