Digital pharmacies are on the rise as startups experience a substantial increase in user adoption and investment this year. Capsule, a New York-based digital pharmacy, raised $50mm Series B this past August while Chinese firm Jianke Pharmaceuticals raised a whopping $130mm Series B a month later. More notably, Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack for just under $1B shook the US market and signaled the consumer giant’s strategic plan to enter the wholesale pharmaceutical market. This upward trend for digital pharmacies is showing no signs of slowing down. Alto’s latest funding round continues with this ongoing investment pattern as it closes $50mm in Series C, bringing its valuation up to $73mm.
Led by Zola Global and Greenoaks Capital, the investment will allow Alto to bring its digital prescription service to patients living outside of initial major metro areas in California and expand its product line to include medications for chronic and complex conditions. Since its inception, Alto has partnered with UCSF, Stanford, and One Medical to deliver prescription medicine to over 50,000 patients in San Francisco and Southern California. By providing patients with same-day medication delivery and on-demand access to pharmacists, Alto and other digital pharmacies will only continue to grow and rival traditional retail pharmacy chains.