Queue
Palo Alto, US · Founded 2025 · 15 employees on LinkedIn · 8 known investors
Queue builds an autonomous robotic pharmacy kiosk that takes in sealed wholesale drug bottles and dispenses filled, verified prescription vials on-site, using computer vision to identify each pill to its National Drug Code and QR codes to verify scripts. Each unit stocks around 250 of the most commonly prescribed medications for retail, hospital, and underserved locations across the U.S.
Also known as Queue Inc.
Founders & leadership
Queue was founded in 2025 by Nick Desai and Josh Liu.
Investors · 8
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Queue is a Palo Alto, California company developing what it describes as the world's first fully autonomous robotic pharmacy. Its dispensing unit accepts sealed wholesale pill bottles and outputs filled, verified prescription vials without on-site human involvement, with each unit stocking roughly 250 to 280 of the most commonly prescribed medications and inventory tailored to local demand. Patients present a QR code on a phone to verify a prescription, and the company states prescriptions can be fulfilled in 60 seconds or less.
The system uses computer vision to identify every pill against its National Drug Code and the associated prescription, and each storage cell in the machine can hold thousands of pills. The company reports that the unit can fill a vial of 60 pills every 30 seconds. AI software monitors medication levels and alerts pharmacy technicians when replenishment is needed. Queue frames the product as an infrastructure layer for prescription fulfillment intended to move pharmacy services closer to patients at lower cost, in retail, hospital and underserved locations.
The company emerged from stealth on June 30, 2026 alongside a $12.6 million seed round, and says it employs about 20 people across robotics, hardware, software and pharmacy operations in Silicon Valley."]
Founding story
Queue was co-founded by Nick Desai, who serves as CEO and is described as a six-time venture-backed entrepreneur who previously founded and led the home healthcare company Heal, which raised more than $200 million, and Josh Liu, CTO, whose prior experience spans Tesla and Zipline. The founders position the company against the closure of roughly one in three U.S. pharmacies since 2010 and pharmacist workload pressure, arguing that automating dispensing lets pharmacists focus on counseling and clinical checks.
Business model
Queue develops and deploys autonomous robotic pharmacy units placed in retail, healthcare and underserved locations, and states it is expanding deployments with enterprise pharmacy customers. Its stated economic proposition is a lower cost to dispense than conventional pharmacy fulfillment.
Traction
The company emerged from stealth with a working system, has a team of about 20, and has raised $18.6 million in total funding. Seed proceeds are earmarked for product development, expanded deployments with enterprise pharmacy customers and engineering hiring.
Latest developments
On June 30, 2026 Queue emerged from stealth, and on July 1, 2026 a $12.6 million seed round led by AlleyCorp with House Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, Grep Ventures and Banter Capital was reported, following a $6 million pre-seed led by Riot Ventures.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Queue presents itself as the first fully autonomous robotic pharmacy and positions autonomous prescription fulfillment as a new infrastructure layer for U.S. healthcare, addressing pharmacy closures and pharmacy deserts as well as GoodRx-cited findings that nearly a third of Americans do not fill prescriptions due to cost and access issues.
The system is designed to operate with zero human involvement from sealed wholesale bottle to verified vial, rather than assisting a pharmacist, and pairs NDC-level computer vision pill identification with QR-code script verification.
Technology
A robotic dispensing unit that takes in sealed wholesale bottles and outputs filled, verified vials. Computer vision identifies each pill to its National Drug Code and matches it to the prescription; prescriptions are verified by scanning a QR code on the patient's phone. Cells hold thousands of pills each, a 60-pill vial can be filled every 30 seconds, and AI monitors stock levels to prompt technician replenishment.
Go-to-market
Enterprise pharmacy customers and operators of retail, hospital/healthcare and underserved locations, serving patients who fill common prescriptions.
Geography
Headquartered in Palo Alto / Silicon Valley, California, with units intended for retail, hospital and underserved locations across the United States.
History
Coverage describes Queue as a one-year-old startup at the time of its public launch. It raised a $6 million pre-seed round led by Riot Ventures less than a year before emerging from stealth on June 30, 2026 with a $12.6 million seed round led by AlleyCorp, bringing total funding to $18.6 million.
Risks & controversies
Coverage notes regulatory risk: a machine promising zero human involvement will need to convince state pharmacy boards that its verification checks match those of a human pharmacist.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsQueue announced a $12.6 million seed round led by AlleyCorp with participation from House Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, Grep Ventures and Banter Capital, bringing total funding to $18.6 million. Funds are for product development, enterprise pharmacy deployments and engineering hiring.
$12.6M source ↗
Queue publicly launched, announcing a working fully autonomous robotic pharmacy system that dispenses, verifies and delivers prescriptions.
Reported pre-seed round of $6 million led by Riot Ventures, closed less than a year before the seed round.
$6M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Queuequeue.inc · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Queue do?
- Queue builds a fully autonomous robotic pharmacy that fills and verifies prescriptions on-site from sealed wholesale bottles.
- Who founded Queue?
- Queue was founded by Nick Desai, Josh Liu in 2025.
- Who are Queue's investors?
- Queue's investors include AlleyCorp, Riot Ventures, Inception Studio Capital, Cerberus Capital Management, Illinois Ventures, Playground Global.
- Where is Queue headquartered?
- Queue is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.