Uber Technologies has tied up with Flytrex to introduce a drone delivery service, marking the company's inaugural investment in drone delivery.

The service is anticipated to launch initially in Uber Eats' pilot locations across the US by the end of 2025.

It is set to offer a fully integrated 'end-to-end' experience engineered for rapidity, safety, and scalability.

Uber autonomous mobility and delivery president Sarfraz Maredia said: “Autonomous technology is transforming mobility and delivery faster than ever before.

“With Flytrex, we’re entering the next chapter - bringing the speed and sustainability of drone delivery to the Uber Eats platform, at scale, for the first time. Together, we’ll reshape how food, convenience items, and other essentials move through cities.”

Uber is expanding its delivery network to include flexible, multimodal options such as sidewalk robots and now, autonomous aerial delivery.

Flytrex, which has received clearance from the FAA for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, contributes its technology and operational expertise to the partnership, ensuring that customers can receive their orders within minutes.

Flytrex executive chair Noam Bardin said: “Autonomous drones are the future of food delivery - fast, affordable, and hands-free. Flytrex has already delivered over 200,000 meals to suburban households in the past three years. Partnering with Uber - pioneers of ground-based mobility - brings together proven logistics expertise with aerial innovation.

“Together, we’re building the infrastructure for a future where autonomous systems seamlessly move goods through our communities, making faster, safer, and more sustainable delivery the new standard.”

The integration of Flytrex's BVLOS-certified drones with Uber's network of restaurants, merchants, and consumers is expected to offer more “cost-efficient last-mile logistics at scale”.

Earlier in September 2022, Uber Technologies collaborated with autonomous vehicle company Nuro for food deliveries in the US.