The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred interest in alternative last-mile delivery solutions, but innovation in this area has been steadily growing for years. Both new and existing players have investigated driverless cars that can be loaded up with cargo or even pizza; diminutive droids that share the sidewalk with pedestrians; and drones that take to the sky from an electric van. The movement of venture capital (VC) firms can give a good indication to prospective winners in these areas, and importantly, they also have the cash to hand that could make such ideas a reality.

Alexei Andreev is co-founder and Managing Director of Autotech Ventures, a…