Piston raises $15M to expand cardless fuel payments network

Piston, a payment platform for commercial fleets, has secured $15 million in Series A funding to expand its cardless fuel payment network throughout the United States, according to the company. FPV Ventures led the round, with Spark Capital and Pear VC joining as existing investors. This brings Piston’s total funding to $22.5 million.

Since the previous year, Piston's payment volume has increased eightfold, while its merchant network has grown 40 times. The company currently operates at over 2,000 fuel stations across 48 states and has certified and live point-of-sale integrations with more than 95% of U.S. merchant fuel sites.

Piston's technology aims to replace physical fuel cards with a system that authorizes transactions for individual drivers and vehicles at the point of sale, reducing fraud and administrative work. Vikram Sekhon, co-founder and CEO, stated, "Commercial fuel still runs on payment technology built for another era. Fleet fuel fraud is a physical card problem, disguised as a detection issue."

The company is also incorporating AI tools into its platform, such as Piston Guard, which evaluates transactions for anomalies and flags or blocks suspected fraudulent spending, and Piston Analytics Agent, which helps fleet operators analyze spending data and identify patterns. These AI products build on Piston's focus on real-time transaction controls.

Piston was founded by Vikram Sekhon and Shivam Shah, who previously managed trucking fleets. Sekhon highlighted that fuel was his fleet's second-largest expense after payroll and that the company had faced fraud, unpredictable fees, and administrative work in reconciling fuel transactions. This background influenced Piston's approach to fuel payments.

In 2025, the company reported that drivers used a smartphone and a dynamic QR code to authorize fuel purchases, with transactions tied to vehicle, time, location, and fuel type details. Piston has since expanded since its previous funding round, raising $7.5 million in June 2025. At that time, the company served over 120 fleets across 800 fuel stations, with an annualized transaction volume exceeding $20 million.

Piston plans to use the new funding to accelerate its network expansion, advance product development, and add senior leaders. The company aims to establish coverage across every U.S. region within the next 18 months and eventually move beyond fuel payments into broader logistics payments infrastructure. However, no further details were provided about the specific areas of logistics payments the company intends to target.