Hyundai teams with pharmacy startup to build autonomous prescription delivery

Hyundai Motor Group and the California-based pharmacy startup NowRX have launched a pilot to provide prescription medication delivery through automated logistics services that could eventually include autonomous vehicles.

Set to launch later this year, the project will serve two micro-fulfillment centers in the Los Angeles area, using aspects of automated dispatch, fleet management, and other last-mile optimization technologies.

Under the terms of the deal, NowRx plans to combine its “QuickFill” proprietary pharmacy management system with Hyundai’s smart mobility solutions, as supported by the South Korean automaker’s Innovation Division.

"Autonomous vehicles are part of our long-term strategic vision for NowRx to further reduce delivery costs at scale,” Cary Breese, CEO and Co-Founder of NowRx, said in a release. “We can’t imagine a better company to work with than the Group, which has demonstrated substantial leadership in the autonomous vehicle, and other robotics and automation areas.”

The news comes as NowRx said its “series C” investment round has raised $22.5 million and counting for the firm’s same-day prescription delivery and telehealth services through the equity crowdfunding platform SeedInvest. With the funds raised in this round, the six-year old firm said it will expand into additional territories and accelerate the technology roadmap for its pharmacy-management software and logistics technology.

NowRx currently operates a total of eight micro fulfillment pharmacies spread across the San Francisco Bay Area, Orange County, Los Angeles, and Phoenix with 487,000 prescriptions delivered to date to its more than 64,000 customers.