Queue, a Silicon Valley startup, has emerged from stealth with a $12.6M seed round led by AlleyCorp, bringing its total funding to $18.6M. The company has built what it claims is the world's first fully autonomous robotic pharmacy — a self-contained machine that accepts sealed wholesale bottles and dispenses filled, verified prescription vials in under 60 seconds with zero human involvement. It can dispense up to 600 pills per minute across 250 medications and claims a 96% reduction in dispensing costs. The startup targets the growing US 'pharmacy desert' problem, where one in three pharmacies has closed. Regulatory hurdles remain, as most US states require a licensed pharmacist to authorize prescriptions, and Queue has yet to demonstrate the system at scale across multiple sites.
