Anti-fraud outfit Forensiq sells to affiliate outfit Impact Radius
Impact Radius has begun putting its recent $30m round of private equity funding to work by acquiring Forensiq for a publicly undisclosed sum, with the newly-merged pair claiming to offer a unique proposition, with an algorithmic way of tracing consumer journeys, plus fraud detection capabilities.
The deal further signals the ongoing consolidation in the ad tech sector, plus the industry’s growing demand to tackle the issue of click fraud more effectively, with Impact Radius now claiming that it can offer advertisers insights that are not polluted by fraudulent data.
It remains unclear if the Forensiq brand will remain post the closure of the deal, but Per Pettersen, Impact Radius CEO, claimed the pair would begin integrating to technologies to create a single offering.
Forensiq’s technology works by analysing probabilistic and deterministic signals from over 4 trillion monthly data points, from bid request to acquisition, helping brands to better trust their campaign data, according to the pair.
“Together the teams will focus on the development of artificial intelligence technologies, pioneering the new digital currency of attribution, viewability and ad fraud,” added Pettersen.
Click fraud is widespread, the IAB estimates that ad fraud costs the US marketing and media industry $8.2bn each year, and the fact that much digital ad campaign data is unreliable risks further investment from brands.
David Sendroff, CEO of Forensiq, said: “We believe in a world where advertisers can focus on improving ROI, and not have to worry about eliminating fraud from the equation. Our automated and seamless solutions allow advertisers to maximise the impact of every dollar spent.”
Last week the WFA issued a report claiming the issue of ad fraud was unlikely to be lessened unless advertisers take a more direct approach to the problem.
The acquisition comes in the wake of Impact Radius’ recently announced $30m fundraising round led by Silversmith Partners earlier this month.