Donostia-San Sebastián, June 2026. — The SPRI Group has published a story in its entrepreneurship blog dedicated to TrebezIA, the San Sebastián-based autonomous robotics startup founded as a Tecnalia spinoff, describing the technology the company is developing and the intralogistics challenges it aims to solve. The story is part of SPRI's Hablamos de ti initiative, through which the agency amplifies Basque business projects with impact in strategic areas.
Conventional automation has transformed 80% of product flows in modern warehouses. But the remaining 20% — orders with products of varying geometry, size, and weight, in environments shared with people — still depends on manual labor. That is exactly the space TrebezIA has chosen to address.
Its solution combines an autonomous mobile platform with a robotic arm equipped with 3D perception and artificial intelligence. The system can identify, pick, and transport products of different characteristics without prior reprogramming, adapting to dynamic environments in real time.
"Conventional automation handles 80% of a warehouse's product flow well, but the remaining 20% still concentrates most of the manual work. That is exactly the space we automate." — Jon Oñativia, CEO and co-founder of TrebezIA
TrebezIA's origins are inseparable from the prior work of Tecnalia. Between 2021 and 2023, several companies in pharmaceutical distribution and supermarket supply identified the difficulty of automating complex picking tasks and brought that challenge to Tecnalia. The technology center developed a mature prototype based on years of research in flexible robotics. The startup was incorporated at the end of 2024 with that prototype already transferred.
Artificial intelligence is the core differentiator: three-dimensional perception models to identify objects in real time, dynamic trajectory generation algorithms to manipulate products in constrained spaces, and autonomous navigation capabilities allowing the robot to share space with human operators.
TrebezIA targets industrial logistics operators, pharmaceutical distributors, supermarket chains, and large distributors. The company is currently conducting a validation of its solution with Novaltia, a pharmaceutical distribution cooperative, with the goal of closing its first sales by the end of 2026.
The target ROI for customers is two to three years — a competitive range for sectors with high dependence on manual labor in picking operations.
The SPRI Group has supported TrebezIA from its earliest stages through programs including Basque Tek Ventures, Ekintzaile, BDIH Konexio, and Innobideak Fast Track. Gestión Capital Riesgo del País Vasco holds a stake in the company following a 250,000-euro investment.
The startup was selected from 882 applications to participate in BIND 4.0 — SPRI's open innovation program — where it is currently executing a Proof of Concept with a corporate partner in the logistics sector. The DemoDay will take place this June, with results presented to investors and industry leaders.
Looking ahead to 2027, TrebezIA plans to exhibit at LogiMAT Stuttgart, one of Europe's leading intralogistics trade fairs, as part of its strategy to scale in the European market.
