Piston Technologies Inc. has secured $15 million in Series A funding to expand its cardless payment infrastructure for the commercial trucking sector. The round was led by FPV Ventures, with participation from Spark Capital and Pear VC, the latter having backed the startup’s earlier seed round. This investment brings Piston’s total capital raised to $22.5 million, a sum intended to accelerate the rollout of its proprietary network across the United States.
The company targets a specific inefficiency within the $900 billion U.S. trucking industry. Fleet operators currently rely on physical fuel cards or corporate credit cards to manage fuel purchases for their vehicles. This traditional method creates significant security risks and obscures daily spending visibility. One report by Wex Inc. estimates that the average trucking firm loses between 5% and 15% of its annual fuel budget to fraudulent payments. Such losses erode margins for many operators.
Replacing Physical Cards with Digital Verification
Piston’s co-founders, Chief Executive Vikram Sekhon and Chief Operating Officer Shivam Shah, developed the technology after experiencing these issues firsthand. Both were former commercial truck fleet operators who struggled with fraud, hidden transaction costs, and the administrative burden of reconciling payments. Their solution is a two-sided cardless payment network that connects trucking fleets directly to gas stations without relying on traditional card networks.
At the point of sale, the system authorizes gas purchases for specific drivers and vehicles using a simple QR code scanner. The platform records every transaction detail, including the amount of fuel purchased, cost, time, and location. By removing the physical card, the system eliminates the risk of drivers making unauthorized purchases, such as buying snacks at the company‘s expense. This direct verification ensures that only approved vehicles can access fuel, creating a complete audit trail for the fleet operator.
The shift from plastic to digital verification changes the operational reality for fleet managers who have long relied on manual reconciliation. Without physical cards to issue, track, or replace, the administrative overhead drops significantly. Drivers no longer carry credentials that can be stolen or misused, and the risk of fuel theft at the pump is mitigated by real-time authorization checks. Every gallon purchased is verified against the company’s approved list before the transaction is completed.
Integrating AI for Real-Time Fraud Protection
Piston’s platform leverages artificial intelligence to enhance security and provide actionable insights. A feature called Piston Guard evaluates individual transactions in real time to detect and block fraudulent activity before it is processed. Companies can set specific parameters to trigger alerts or blocks, allowing them to intervene immediately if a purchase deviates from expected patterns.
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Additionally, the Piston Analytics Agent helps operators analyze fuel spending to uncover insights that could optimize business operations. This tool reduces the need for hours of manual data study, providing clear visibility into spending trends and potential savings. For gas station merchants, the system offers a reliable source of repeat customers with lower transaction costs, while also driving in-store sales from drivers who must use their own funds for non-fuel items.
Expanding the Merchant Network Nationwide
Over the last 12 months, Piston has grown its merchant network by more than 40 times, resulting in an eightfold increase in annual payment volume. The startup reports a 98% customer retention rate and currently operates at more than 2,000 gas stations across 48 states. The company aims to establish its network in every U.S. region within the next 18 months, a timeline that reflects an aggressive expansion strategy.
FPV Ventures’ Nikunj Kothari said he’s backing Piston because fuel is one of the largest business-to-business spend categories in the U.S. He pointed out that trucking firms spend billions of dollars on fuel annually, but the vast majority of those transactions are done using outdated infrastructure.
Sekhon described card-based payments as unreliable for modern trucking fleets, arguing that the cards themselves are the root of the problem rather than a detection issue. “We removed the card and built a network that authorizes every purchase for a specific driver and vehicle at the point of sale,” he said. “This round lets us expand that infrastructure until now commercial driver has to ask whether a station accepts Piston.”
Once the network is fully established across all U.S. regions, Piston plans to explore expanding beyond fuel into broader logistics payments infrastructure. The company’s current focus remains on securing widespread acceptance at fueling stations to ensure seamless integration for its fleet clients. The next phase of growth will depend on maintaining high merchant adoption rates while keeping the transaction process frictionless for drivers on the road.