Delivery Robot Startups Turn Focus to Cities Amid Pandemic

A handful of startups raised venture capital funding—and eyebrows from curious onlookers—as their semiautonomous, cooler-sized robots rolled onto college campuses and communities in recent years. University campuses started out as prime locations to test this technology. But as the coronavirus pandemic has shuttered campuses and left many in limbo about reopening this fall, some robotics startups have accelerated efforts to expand in cities and neighborhoods as demand surges for delivery services.