Exclusive: Queue launches prescription kiosks with $12.6M seed

Exclusive: Queue launches prescription kiosks with $12.6M seed

Queue, a prescription kiosk company, has raised $12.6 million in seed funding, CEO Nick Desai tells Axios Pro exclusively.

What's next: The company is planning a Series A in about a year and is open to debt financing to fund manufacturing, Desai says.

Follow the money: AlleyCorp led, joined by Riot Ventures, House Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, Grep Ventures and Banter Capital.

  • Queue has raised $18.6 million to date.

    • How it works: Resembling vending machines, Queue's kiosks feature cameras for identity verification, scanners to identify a patient's unique QR code, and an interactive touch screen.

  • Inside the machine, AI optical sensors identify each pill as it is dispensed into patient-ready bottles.
  • The company's platform currently supports 250 prescribed medications, including statins, metformin and blood pressure medication. The kiosks can also dispense some controlled substances like antidepressants.

    • Zoom in: Queue aims to sell to large retailers. It plans to be live with an unnamed customer by year-end, and expects to have kiosks live in ten sites by the end of 1Q27, Desai says.

  • The kiosks are connected to pharmacy management software so customers can track delivery in real time.

    • What they're saying: "We can reduce the footprint of their pharmacy in their store giving them more square feet back to sell other products at higher margins," Desai says.

  • Queue can also allow retail pharmacies to expand hours, while reducing staff, he says.

    • Zoom out: Queue joins a growing segment. Last year, Amazon started to deploy similar kiosks in certain One Medical locations.

  • Meanwhile, companies like Doctronic offer telemedicine via human clinicians and an AI system able to make clinical decisions like refilling medications.
  • Last December, Doctronic launched prescription renewal services in Utah, where its AI refills medications directly for patients without a physician intermediary. The company raised $40 million in March.
  • Other companies in the space include Asteres Inc and Smart RX Systems.