[8][9] The company began food delivery in August 2014 with the launch of the UberFRESH service in Santa Monica, California.

[10] In 2015, the platform was renamed UberEats[11] and the ordering software was released a standalone application initially launching in Toronto.

[19] As part of its expansion into foreign markets, the company announced its intention to open virtual restaurants in the UK.

[31] In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Uber Eats saw a 30% rise in new customers, as people avoided social interaction for fear of contracting the virus.

[32] On May 4, 2020 Uber Eats announced they were exiting the United Arab Emirates and that the service would now be through Dubai based vehicle for hire company Careem.

[36] On March 11, 2022, Uber Eats added a fuel surcharge to deliveries in the United States and Canada.

[38][39] In April 2022, Uber Eats partnered with the U.K.'s largest grocer, Tesco, to start in 20 stores and to guarantee delivery of an order within one hour.

[40] On May 16, 2022, Uber Eats launched two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles with Serve Robotics and Motional.

The delivery system, originally from Oakland, CA, is set to deliver food and groceries to residents in Miami.

[43] In April 2020, a group of New Yorkers sued Uber Eats along with DoorDash, Grubhub and Postmates, accusing them of using their market power monopolistically by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery.

The company has been using AI for facial recognition since April 2020 to confirm that drivers' selfies match the pictures that Uber has on record for them, as a form of identity verification.