Queue, a startup building what it claims is the world’s first fully autonomous robotic pharmacy, has raised $12.6 million in seed funding to bring its technology to market. The round, led by AlleyCorp, brings the company’s total funding to $18.6 million after a $6 million pre-seed round completed less than a year ago.
The company emerged from stealth today with a working system designed to automatically fill, verify, and dispense prescriptions with minimal human intervention. Queue says its robotic kiosks can reduce prescription fulfillment costs by up to 96% compared to traditional pharmacy operations while improving speed, accuracy, and patient convenience.
How Queue’s Robotic Pharmacy Works
Queue’s system combines robotics, artificial intelligence, and strict verification protocols to handle the entire prescription fulfillment process autonomously. Patients can pick up medications from compact kiosks without needing to interact with a pharmacist for routine refills.
The company emphasizes that the technology maintains rigorous safety standards, including multiple layers of verification to ensure the correct medication is dispensed to the right patient. This approach aims to address common issues in traditional pharmacies such as long wait times, staffing shortages, and high operational costs.
Queue plans to deploy these robotic systems in partnership with enterprise pharmacy operators, hospitals, and other healthcare providers looking to expand access while lowering costs.
Strong Investor Backing
The oversubscribed seed round was led by AlleyCorp, with participation from House Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, Grep Ventures, and Banter Capital. The strong investor interest reflects growing enthusiasm for automation solutions in healthcare, particularly in pharmacy operations where labor shortages and rising costs have created significant challenges.
Queue will use the new capital to accelerate product development, expand deployments with enterprise customers, and grow its engineering team. The company says the next year will focus heavily on scaling its technology and bringing more robotic pharmacy units into real-world use.
Addressing Major Challenges in Pharmacy
Traditional pharmacies across the United States continue to face staffing shortages, high operational costs, and increasing demand for prescriptions. Queue’s technology is positioned as a solution that can help pharmacies serve more patients with fewer resources while maintaining safety and compliance standards.
By automating the dispensing process, the company believes it can make medication access more convenient for patients, reduce wait times, and lower overall healthcare costs. The robotic kiosks are designed to be placed in convenient locations, potentially expanding access in underserved areas or high-traffic locations such as clinics, grocery stores, or workplace wellness centers.
Growing Interest in Healthcare Robotics
Queue’s launch comes at a time when healthcare providers are increasingly turning to robotics and automation to address workforce challenges. The pharmacy sector has been particularly impacted by staffing shortages, making autonomous dispensing systems an attractive option for many operators.
While fully autonomous robotic pharmacies are still relatively new, several companies have been developing similar technologies. Queue claims its system is the first to achieve full autonomy with robust safety and verification features built in from the ground up.
The company’s backers see significant potential in a solution that can scale efficiently while maintaining the high safety standards required for medication dispensing. As Queue moves from stealth to active deployment, it will be closely watched by both investors and healthcare operators looking for ways to modernize pharmacy services.
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