Humanoid robots aren’t quite ready to clock in at the factory, but manufacturers are already tapping their watches. Faced with labor shortages, the industry has been eyeing startups that promise faster automation without the usual compromises.

Enter Theker, an AI robotics startup that wants to build robots capable of doing more than one trick. "If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes aren’t like that," co-founder Carla Gómez Cano told TechCrunch, presumably while not putting cookies in boxes.

Unlike humanoid robots locked into a fixed form - looking at you, Boston Dynamics - Theker’s machines are designed to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms, and overall shape can be swapped or resized depending on the task, whether that’s sorting packages, packing clothing, or handling bottles in a warehouse. Messy reality, meet flexible robot.

That Inditex, Zara’s parent company, signed on as an early backer signals where Theker’s ambitions begin, not where they end. The Barcelona-based startup aims to move beyond retail into heavier industrial settings like manufacturing, where manual tasks are even more complex and plentiful.

This generalist ambition has helped Theker raise serious cash: $85 million in what it calls "Europe’s largest ever robotics Series A." (We checked; it checks out.) The round was led by American VC firm CRV and backed by Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, the investment vehicle tied to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault. Samsung isn’t a client yet, but Gómez Cano said they’re in advanced discussions. Theker would welcome having Samsung as customer, supplier, and investor simultaneously - a trifecta that offers both revenue and manufacturing credibility.

Gómez Cano noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu "didn’t build Theker to run pilots," so the team skips innovation departments and goes straight to logistics or operations, where deals are real and timelines shorter. To prove they can deliver, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona and plans to open more across Europe, the U.S., and Asia. Headcount will grow from dozens to up to 120 people by year’s end - though Gómez Cano caught herself: "I am saying that, but I also said that we’d raise $30 or $40 million!" Theker raised twice its target, so maybe they’re bad at math in the best possible way.

The startup’s conviction in keeping its HQ in Barcelona - a growing robotics hub - remains strong. "It has never been a barrier to acceleration for us, so we are making the most of it," Gómez Cano said. With 15,000 job applications to filter, they’re certainly making the most of something.