CarIQ, founded in 2016 and based in San Francisco, builds machine identity verification and a vehicle-native payments platform that lets vehicles connect directly with banks and service providers to pay for services without a physical credit card. Its flagship product, Car IQ Pay, enables commercial fleets to autonomously initiate, validate, and complete payments for fuel, tolls, parking and other services, and is accepted at over 21,500 fuel stations nationwide including Shell and Sunoco. The platform replaces incumbent fuel cards, reduces back-office reconciliation time, and leverages vehicle data to automate payments, manage spending, generate insights, and reduce fraud. The company positions itself in the roughly $600 billion connected-vehicle payments market. Financially, CarIQ has raised $42 million to date, including a recent $15 million Series B, and reports increasing demand from fleets and merchants. The company plans to use the new funds to accelerate expansion of its payment platform and add commerce categories such as electric vehicle charging, repairs, registration, and insurance. Car IQ builds an autonomous payment platform that lets vehicles validate services and pay for them without human intervention or credit cards. Its core technology creates a digital vehicle fingerprint from complex sensor data to enable vehicle-level identity management and data governance. That fingerprint allows cars to connect directly to physical infrastructure, mobility platforms, and financial institutions to schedule appointments and complete transactions autonomously. The platform is positioned to serve OEMs, fleet managers, car-sharing and ride-sharing services, and commercial fleets, with partnerships across OEMs, financial institutions, and third-party service providers. Founded in 2016 by Sterling Pratz, Car IQ is developing a payment gateway to connect vehicles directly to banks' payment networks. The company recently closed a $5 million Series A to accelerate growth, grow its team, and scale operations.

Total raised

$20M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Feb 2023