Pixalate Secures $18.1M to Combat Ad Fraud | Television & Mobile
Pixalate Secures $18.1 Million in Growth Funding
Pixalate has successfully obtained $18.1 million in growth capital to bolster its platform focused on fraud prevention, privacy, and compliance analytics within the connected television and mobile advertising sectors.
Funding Details and Company History
Western Technology Investment and Javelin Venture Partners spearheaded the recent investment round. This brings the total funding secured by Pixalate to $22.7 million, according to Jalal Nasir, the founder and CEO. A previous $4.6 million Series A round was completed in 2014.
Global Monitoring Capabilities
Pixalate’s operations span globally, with offices located in Palo Alto and London. The company’s analytical capabilities cover more than 5 million applications across five distinct app stores. Furthermore, it processes data from over 2 billion IP addresses linked to 300 million connected television devices.
This extensive monitoring allows Pixalate to identify and report instances of fraudulent advertising activity for its clientele. Nasir highlights that over 40 different categories of invalid traffic are currently recognized.
Inspired by a Unique Background
Nasir’s approach to identifying fraudulent activity stems from a unique personal experience. Growing up, he accompanied his grandfather to livestock shows, learning to discern imperfections in animals. He applies this same discerning skill to Pixalate, differentiating between legitimate and fraudulent users.
The platform can detect deceptive practices like ad stacking and the concealment of ads that negatively impact device performance, such as draining smartphone batteries or consuming excessive internet bandwidth, and ultimately, diverting ad revenue.
The Scale of Digital Advertising and Ad Fraud
The digital advertising market represents a substantial economic force. Research from the Association of National Advertisers estimates global spending will reach $200 billion this year. This figure marks a significant increase from the $10 billion spent prior to 2010.
Concurrently, ad fraud is projected to cost the industry $35 billion, according to Nasir. Advertisers invest heavily to reach their target audiences, relying on consumption data that may not always be obtained with user authorization or consent.
A Third-Party Approach to Privacy and Compliance
While many competitors concentrate on first-party risks, Pixalate adopts a third-party strategy. This is driven by the increasing amount of time individuals spend using their devices.
Recent findings from Pixalate reveal that 16% of applications on Apple’s App Store lack privacy policies, while 22% of applications in Google’s Play Store are similarly deficient. Growing concerns regarding privacy and increasing governmental regulations are driving demand for greater transparency from advertisers.
Future Expansion and Investment
The newly acquired funding will be allocated to enhancing the platform’s privacy and data features. Pixalate plans to double the size of its sales and customer support teams and expand its London office.
Additionally, the company intends to establish a new office in Singapore to further broaden its global reach.
Impressive Growth and Data Collection
Since 2014, Pixalate has experienced a remarkable 1,200% increase in revenue. The company currently processes over 2 terabytes of data each month.
Nasir plans to incorporate data from China-based app stores, such as Tencent and Baidu, into Pixalate’s monitoring capabilities, in addition to the five app stores already covered.
Industry Perspective from Javelin Venture Partners
Noah Doyle, managing director at Javelin Venture Partners, emphasizes the increasing vulnerabilities within the expanding digital advertising ecosystem. He notes that the proliferation of networks creates new access points for malicious actors.
“Jalal and Amin have demonstrated a deep understanding of potential fraud points and have developed a unique solution to address this significant challenge,” Doyle stated. “Their analytical approach, capturing a comprehensive range of data points, provides advertisers and marketers with the visibility needed to maintain advertising quality.”
