What do they actually do
Pharmie AI makes an AI assistant for pharmacies that answers inbound calls, places outbound calls/texts, captures patient information (like DOB and insurance cards), offers services (delivery, vaccines) during calls, and writes refill/transfer requests into the pharmacy management system. It includes HIPAA‑compliant messaging and smart document processing so actions land in the existing workflow rather than a separate inbox pharmie.app YC launch.
Today it’s being used by independent/community pharmacies. The team onboards each site, connects to the PMS (or sets up a secure workflow), tunes escalation rules, and then Pharmie handles routine phone traffic 24/7 while escalating edge cases to staff; early materials show live use in a handful of locations and demos against common PMS software YC company page YC launch.
The company reports large reductions in phone volume (around 70%) and double‑digit hours saved per week for staff in early pilots; these are vendor‑reported results from a small pilot footprint and should be treated as preliminary pharmie.app YC launch Fondo.
Who are their target customer(s)
- Independent/community pharmacy owner/operator: Constant call volume and refill requests pull staff off higher‑value work; there’s no reliable coverage outside business hours. They want routine calls automated with tasks written back to their PMS so nothing is dropped pharmie.app YC company page.
- Pharmacy manager or lead pharmacist at a single location or small chain: Technicians and pharmacists are diverted to basic admin (answering calls, entering refills, insurance verification), slowing turnaround and complicating schedules. They need clear, PMS‑native action items from automated interactions YC launch pharmie.app.
- Pharmacy technician (front‑end staff): Repetitive calls, manual data entry, and document capture drive burnout and error risk. They want intake, messaging, and document capture handled automatically to reduce manual work pharmie.app.
- Rural or limited‑hours pharmacy serving older/less tech‑savvy patients: Patients struggle to reach staff after hours and miss refills; staff spend time on outreach. They need 24/7 voice/messaging and automated reminders to improve adherence without adding shifts pharmie.app Voice AI overview.
- Operations, billing, or compliance lead at an independent pharmacy: Payer follow‑ups, audit prep, and reporting are manual and error‑prone. They want tools that automate follow‑ups and surface audit risks (a direction Pharmie is signaling in its roadmap) Voice AI overview YC company page.
How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers
- First 10: Convert current pilots and nearby independents with founder‑led, hands‑on onboarding and short paid pilots that demonstrate live PMS writebacks and measured call‑volume reduction pharmie.app YC launch.
- First 50: Leverage case studies to run targeted outreach via regional pharmacy groups and SDRs; tailor demos to the prospect’s PMS, offer low‑risk pilot terms, and use a referral incentive while standardizing onboarding checklists YC company page pharmie.app.
- First 100: Shift to lighter‑touch installs through additional PMS connectors, self‑serve onboarding, and channel partnerships (PMS vendors/wholesalers); package pricing around volume and campaigns so CS focuses on exceptions, not setup pharmie.app Voice AI overview.
What is the rough total addressable market
Top-down context:
NCPA’s 2024 Digest cites 18,984 independent community pharmacy locations in the U.S.; applying a per‑store subscription for a 24/7 AI voice + messaging service yields a core TAM in the tens of millions annually, with upside if expanded to all retail pharmacies (≈54,436 locations) NCPA 2024 Digest PDF.
Bottom-up calculation:
Using 18,984 stores, low/mid/high annual price points of ~$1,188, $3,000, and $7,200 produce ≈$22.6M, ≈$57.0M, and ≈$136.7M in annual TAM. The low price point aligns with entry‑tier AI/answering offerings (e.g., Emitrr starting around $99/month) and the mid/high reflect typical virtual‑receptionist ranges cited by industry sources Emitrr Responsive Answering NCPA 2024 Digest PDF.
Assumptions:
- One subscription per independent pharmacy location (single‑site = one unit).
- Price points proxy AI/virtual receptionist market ranges; not Pharmie’s list price.
- All stores are technically eligible; real adoption will be a fraction due to cost sensitivity and integration effort.
Who are some of their notable competitors
- Infinitus.ai: Enterprise AI voice agents for healthcare, including pharmaceutical/specialty‑pharmacy workflows; overlaps in automating high‑volume clinical and admin calls.
- Asepha: Pharmacy‑specific AI voice and SMS assistant (IVR triage, call automation, escalation); a direct feature overlap for independent pharmacies.
- Emitrr: HIPAA‑oriented messaging and conversational automation with AI texting/voice for pharmacies; often chosen for text‑first workflows without deep PMS integration.
- Pharmesol: Pharmacy‑focused startup offering voice+messaging AI for refills/pickups and document capture; targets the same independent‑pharmacy segment.
- Human virtual‑receptionist services (e.g., Ruby; AnswerForce): Live answering/virtual receptionists used by pharmacies for after‑hours coverage and HIPAA‑sensitive calls; compete on reliability and procurement simplicity AnswerForce.