Uber to pilot food delivery by drone through partnership with Flytrex

Your next Uber Eats order could get delivered to you via drone. 

Uber Technologies announced Thursday it is partnering with Flytrex, an autonomous drone delivery system, to fly food deliveries to its customers. The company said it would roll out the service in U.S. Uber Eats pilot markets by the end of the year. 

“Uber aims to build the world’s most flexible, multimodal delivery network — expanding beyond cars, bikes and couriers to sidewalk robots and now autonomous aerial delivery,” Uber said in its statement.

The company, known for its ride-sharing services, said it would also invest in Flytrex to “to accelerate the development and deployment of drone delivery technology” without specifying the size of the investment. 

Flytrex drones have flown over 200,000 meals to suburban households in the past three years, according to Uber. It is one of four companies authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct “Beyond Visual Line of Sight” operations, which is when a pilot cannot see the aircraft with the naked eye.

Uber did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s comment seeking information on where the service will be piloted and how deliveries will work.

The announcement marks another advancement for Uber, which has seen shares climb nearly 30% since the start of the year. It comes just over a week after the company announced plans to let customers book helicopter rides through its ride-sharing app. 

Other companies have also waded into drone delivery as the technology becomes more mainstream. 

DoorDash, one of Uber Eats’ competitors, announced a partnership with Flytrex in June to deliver food in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

Chipotle is also piloting drone technology in the Texas city. Last month it said it would fly food to customers in Dallas through a partnership with Zipline, which also has FAA approval for commercial drone deliveries.