UberEats, ride-hailing company Uber's four-year-old food delivery arm, is a veritable juggernaut. It covers more than 50 percent of the U.S. population, facilitating deliveries for roughly 100,000 restaurants. And globally, it operates in 300 cities and 300 more locations around the globe. Chen Peng, head of data science at UberEats, spoke to a few of UberEats' unique advantages onstage at VentureBeat Summit 2018. "Analytics has played a critical role in driving the growth of the business," he said.

Some smart companies are already making billions of dollars from their investments in AI, but these companies are taking the long-term view to achieve that. And the longer view companies take when working on AI, the more likely AI will exceed their expectations. These are some of the conclusions that emerged from leading executives at VB Summit last week, which focused on how AI is accelerating business results. Leaders from Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, and Intel joined a "Titans in AI" panel at the end of the Summit, and elaborated on some of these findings. Another key finding from the event is that personnel decisions are critical.

An UberEats, operated by Uber Technologies Inc., branded box sits on a motor scooter in London, U.K. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg In a few years, you may order food from UberEats, and a flying drone may deliver it to your door. The Wall Street Journal reported that Uber plans to launch food-delivery drones by 2021. A job post, which Uber later removed from its website, indicated that the company was looking for an operations manager to handle delivery drones. Uber Technologies Inc. has a ridesharing app that allows drivers, who work as independent contractors, to connect with people who need a need ride. The company also owns UberEats, which lets people deliver food from local restaurants.

UberEats, the food delivery service introduced by ride sharing giant Uber, will expand across more than 40 towns and cities in the UK before the end of the year as it continues to compete with rivals Deliveroo and JustEat. Uber, whose car-hailing app has caused upheaval in the taxi industry, disrupted the takeaway market in London when it launched UberEats in June last year. The app is now also available in Manchester and Birmingham and more than 1 million customers have downloaded it since its launch, according to the company. "It's clear from the response we've seen in London, Manchester and Birmingham that there's huge appetite from people to order food at the touch of a button from their favourite local restaurants," Jambu Palaniappan, regional manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at UberEats, said. "We're really excited about the future of the business which is why we're investing heavily in an ambitious plan to launch the app in at least 40 towns and cities in the UK by the end of the year," he added.

Uber is making an aggressive drive into meal delivery, backed by a wave of staff recruitment, with the U.S. tech heavyweight gearing up to enter at least 22 new countries and take on local rivals. In a measure of rising ambition beyond its taxi business, Uber will begin delivering meals in Amsterdam on Thursday just as Dutch market leader Takeaway.com And according to current job listings on Uber and other recruiting sites - for about 150 roles ranging from general managers and sales staff to bike couriers - UberEats is planning to enter at least 22 new countries across the world in the near future. That is on top of the six countries where it already operates. Uber is making an aggressive drive into meal delivery, backed by a wave of staff recruitment, with the U.S. tech heavyweight gearing up to enter at least 22 new countries and take on local rivals Download the UberEATS app and add your delivery address.