Inditex Invests in Robotics Startup Theker to Revolutionize Industry Tech

Inditex has its eye on robotics and has acquired a stake in Theker, a Spanish start-up that develops robots to operate in complex and heterogeneous industrial environments, through a vision and control system based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The company, founded by engineers Jiaqiang Ye Zhu and Carla Gómez Cano, has closed a financing round of $21 million from the hand of Kibo Ventures and Inditex to develop its technology, it says in a statement. According to the startup, it is the highest seed round ever signed in the country.

The company has stated that it is already working with Inditex to automate critical tasks in environments where traditional robotics cannot yet operate. Its technology would allow companies in sectors such as retail advanced automation “without incurring huge upfront investments”.

Inditex is working with the startup to automate “critical tasks” in environments where robotics has not yet been able to operate

Co-founder Gómez Cano says her robots “adapt in real time and learn from their environment, which allows them to be deployed in multiple sectors without the need for customization. Automating the physical world has to be as simple as launching an application,“ she says.

The operation has been led by Kibo Ventures, with the participation of Kfund (through Leadwind, its growth fund), and has also incorporated Inditex as a partner.All of the company’s initial investors (JME, Itnig, Mission and s16vc) have participated, as well as business angels from the technological and industrial ecosystem, including Inditex as a partner.and industrial ecosystem, including Carles Reina (ElevenLabs), Verónica Pascual (Asti), Sergej Epp (Lakestar), Felipe Navío (Jobandtalent) and the investment syndicate Calafia.