Piston Secures $15M to Scale Cardless Fuel Payments Nationwide

Piston raises $15 million to expand cardless fuel payments network

Piston, a payment technology company focused on commercial trucking fleets, has raised $15 million in Series A funding to expand its cardless fuel payment network across the United States.

The round was led by FPV Ventures, with existing investors Spark Capital and Pear VC participating. The financing brings Piston’s total funding to $22.5 million. The company announced the Series A on Sept. 10, 2026.

Based in Cupertino, California, Piston provides a payment system designed to connect commercial fleets with fuel stations and convenience stores. Its technology is intended to replace traditional physical fuel cards with mobile authorization at the point of sale.

For drivers, that can mean using a smartphone and a dynamic QR code to authorize a purchase rather than presenting a physical fleet card. Piston said transactions can be linked to details such as the vehicle, driver, time, location and fuel type.

The company said its network now includes more than 2,000 fuel stations across 48 states. It also said its point-of-sale integrations are certified and live on systems representing more than 95% of U.S. merchant fuel sites. Piston reported that its payment volume increased eightfold over the past year, while its merchant network grew 40 times.

The expansion comes as fleets continue to manage fuel as one of their largest operating expenses. Payment controls affect more than how a driver pays at the pump. They also influence how quickly a fleet can identify unauthorized purchases, reconcile fuel records and understand operating costs.

Traditional fuel cards can create risks when cards are lost, copied or used outside approved rules. Piston’s system is built around authorizing individual transactions at the time of purchase, which the company says can reduce exposure to physical card fraud and provide fleets with more immediate spending visibility.

“Commercial fuel still runs on payment technology built for another era,” said Vikram Sekhon, Piston’s co-founder and CEO. “Fleet fuel fraud is a physical card problem, disguised as a detection issue.”

Piston is also adding two software products that use artificial intelligence to support transaction controls and spending analysis.

Piston Guard evaluates transactions as they occur. Fleet operators can establish rules and have the system flag or block purchases that appear suspicious before they are completed, according to the company. The controls are designed to help identify activity that may not match a vehicle, driver, location or other authorized condition.

Piston Analytics Agent is intended for reviewing fuel spending after transactions take place. The company said the tool can help fleet operators examine spending data and identify patterns without manually sorting through large volumes of records.

Those tools address two different parts of fuel management. Guard is focused on real-time decisions at the pump, while Analytics Agent is designed to help operators review trends and investigate spending afterward. For drivers and dispatch teams, clearer transaction records may also reduce the administrative work involved in resolving questionable purchases.

Piston was founded by Sekhon and co-founder Shivam Shah, who previously operated trucking fleets. Sekhon has said fuel was the second-largest expense in his fleet after payroll and that the operation dealt with fraud, unpredictable fees and the work required to reconcile fuel transactions.

The company’s funding history includes a $1.2 million pre-seed round led by Pear VC in October 2024 and a $6.1 million seed round led by Spark Capital in April 2025. In June 2025, Piston said it served more than 120 fleets across 800 fuel stations and had more than $20 million in annualized transaction volume.

Piston plans to use the new capital to accelerate network expansion, continue developing its products and hire senior leaders. The company said it aims to establish coverage across every U.S. region over the next 18 months.

The company also plans to eventually expand beyond fuel payments into broader logistics payments infrastructure, although it has not specified which additional payment categories it will pursue.

For professional drivers, the practical issue will be how widely the system is accepted and how easily it works at the fuel locations they use. Piston’s growth in station coverage is intended to address that concern, while its transaction controls and spending tools are aimed primarily at giving fleets tighter oversight of fuel purchases.