Funding Alert

ClearTrust Secures $1.9 Million in Pre-Series A Funding to Combat Ad Frauds

• ByStartupStory     |    January 29, 2024

ClearTrust, a leading ad tracking and fraud detection platform, has successfully raised $1.9 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Ideaspring Capital. The funding round also saw participation from Piper Serica Angel Fund, with continued support from existing investor Alacrity India.

Founded in 2020 by seasoned tech visionaries Deepankar Biswas and Raja TN, ClearTrust aims to address the challenges of ad fraud in the digital advertising space. Prior to this round, ClearTrust had secured $200,000 in a seed round from Alacrity India, Limelight UK, and ThinkNext LLC in 2021.

The surge in bot and invalid traffic due to new digital advertising formats and a lack of standardization has exposed advertisers and publishers to increased risks. ClearTrust’s state-of-the-art tracking and fraud detection platform, including products ClearScan and ClearTrack, assist advertising operations, media buying companies, and teams globally in mitigating these risks.

Deepankar Biswas, Co-founder and CEO of ClearTrust, emphasized their mission, stating, “We are all about making online advertising safe and trustworthy. Our ambition is to pioneer paradigm shifts, particularly in combating ad fraud, a challenge that plagues the digital advertising space globally.”

With the fresh funding, ClearTrust plans to expand its operations into North America and invest further in research and development in AI, cybersecurity, and deep tech to develop critical filters for detecting advertising fraud. The company currently serves 34 clients across the US, Israel, India, and Europe.

Raja TN, Co-founder and CTO of ClearTrust, highlighted the challenges faced by digital advertising due to rapid growth and outpacing demand, saying, “Programmatic media traders are particularly vulnerable, often hindered by complex and costly anti-fraud technologies, leading to a trust deficit with advertisers. ClearTrust helps save costs by at least 30%.”

Ideaspring Capital Managing Partner, Naganand Doraswamy, expressed excitement about partnering with ClearTrust, stating, “Cleartrust’s real-time, scalable cybersecurity platform will mitigate this risk. The platform works towards increasing revenue-generating traffic for advertisers, publishers, and ad networks.”

Abhay Agarwal, Founder of Piper Serica Angel Fund, also shared his perspective on the industry’s challenges, noting, “Ad frauds are an escalating threat to the advertising industry that cost advertisers about $170 billion in 2028 as per various reports. We feel ClearTrust has created some cutting-edge technologies to tackle these challenges head-on and efficiently.”

ClearTrust aspires to be a leader in the ad fraud detection segment, targeting a served available market of $10 billion annually. The company has witnessed a 3X annual growth for the last two years and aims for a yearly revenue of $10 million by 2027.

The platform offers security solutions, including traffic scanning, precise tracking, and a real-time dashboard with over 140+ traffic scoring filters, system alerts, and customer-centric features. ClearTrust’s products, ClearScan and ClearTrack, are designed to protect publishers, networks, brands, and agencies from invalid traffic and fraudulent activities, ensuring the integrity and profitability of digital campaigns.

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