Queue

Queue is a Palo Alto-based company developing what it describes as the world's first fully autonomous robotic pharmacy. The company emerged from stealth in mid-2026, having secured $18.6 million in funding through a pre-seed round led by Riot Ventures and a subsequent seed round led by AlleyCorp.

The firm was co-founded by Chief Executive Officer Nick Desai and Chief Technology Officer Josh Liu. Desai is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded and led Heal, a home healthcare company that raised over $200 million. Liu brings engineering experience from technology firms Tesla and Zipline. Their combined expertise addresses what they identify as structural issues in the pharmacy industry, such as labor shortages, rising costs, and store closures creating 'pharmacy deserts'.

Queue’s system is engineered to operate without an on-site pharmacist, managing the entire prescription fulfillment process from sealed wholesale pill bottles to filled and verified prescription vials. The platform uses computer vision to identify pills by their National Drug Code (NDC) for accuracy and can handle 250 of the most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S. By automating the physical fulfillment layer, the company states its system can deliver medications at a cost up to 96% lower than traditional pharmacy operations. The business model targets enterprise pharmacy customers and is designed for deployment across diverse settings, including retail chains, hospitals, and underserved rural communities. Queue has already deployed a working prototype with a major national pharmacy chain, providing early commercial validation.

Keywords: robotic pharmacy, prescription fulfillment, pharmacy automation, health tech, autonomous systems, medication dispensing, robotics, computer vision, Nick Desai, Josh Liu, pharmaceutical infrastructure, pharmacy operations, cost reduction, healthcare access, venture capital, AlleyCorp, Riot Ventures, medical robotics, automated dispensing, pharmacy logistics, prescription verification