Participated · Series B · Feb 2023

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.

Participated · Series B · Feb 2023

Car IQ is a San Francisco-based vehicle payments company whose flagship product, Car IQ Pay, uses machine identity verification to allow vehicles to connect directly with banks and service providers and make purchases without a physical credit card. Car IQ Pay automates payments for commercial fleets for fuel, tolls, and parking by leveraging vehicle data to help manage spending, generate insights, and reduce fraud. The service is accepted at over 21,500 fuel stations nationwide, including Shell and Sunoco. The company raised an additional $15M in Series B funding, bringing total capital raised to $42M. Car IQ plans to use the funds to accelerate expansion of its payment platform and to add new commerce categories such as electric vehicle charging, repairs, registration, and insurance. The company is led by CEO Sterling Pratz. Car IQ is the first payment solution developed specifically for vehicles and fleets, enabling vehicles to transact directly, securely, and autonomously with merchants. Its contactless payment network allows connected cars and trucks to pay for services including fueling, tolling, parking, and more without adding extra hardware or requiring a human credit card. The company’s patent-pending “Know Your Machine℠” technology uniquely authenticates vehicles and embeds security elements into the payment stream to enable banks and merchants to authorize vehicle-initiated purchases. Car IQ positions its offering as a replacement for incumbent fleet card products, aiming to reduce fraud risk and eliminate tedious back-office reconciliation for fleets and merchants. Leadership describes machine banking as the future and says the technology can expand beyond vehicles to enable IoT devices to pay autonomously. The company recently closed a $15 million Series B to broaden relationships, expand into new markets, and add features to its offering. Car IQ builds a vehicle payment gateway to enable cars to autonomously connect to banking networks and pay for services, removing the need for credit cards in vehicle service and payment workflows. The platform targets automotive OEMs, financial institutions, and third-party service providers, with a focus on fleet managers, car-sharing services, ride-sharing platforms, and commercial fleets. Car IQ’s dynamic identity management leverages vehicle sensor data to create a unique digital vehicle fingerprint, enabling direct connections to payment networks and improving data governance at the vehicle level. This approach aims to reduce fraud risk, add transaction transparency, and streamline operations for fleet managers. The company says it will grow its team, scale operations, and focus on powering full machine commerce as it executes its roadmap. Sterling Pratz, founder and CEO, launched Car IQ after previously founding Autonet Mobile, which was acquired by Lear Corp.