• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, December 10, 2013

Real-time ad analytics platform Pixalate is expected to Tuesday announce it has raised $4.6 million in a Series A round of funding led by Javelin Venture Partners. As a result of the funding, Pixalate also announced plans to offer its viewability and ad fraud detection services to brands and agencies for free.

Jalal Nasir, CEO of Pixalate, said in a statement that advertisers looking to invest more into real-time bidding (RTB) are "inhibited" because of transparency issues and high fraud rates. "Industry experts estimate that RTB fraud could be as high as 30%," he said.

The company isn't sharing all its secrets for free -- they still offer a paid version with more advanced analytics -- but answer why its making some offerings free in a Q&A announcing the news, saying, "We don't think media buyers should have to pay for viewability data."

This announcement comes a few weeks after the Media Ratings Council (MRC) announced it will lift its viewability advisory in the first quarter of 2014, which will make viewability a legitimate currency for online media-buying.

Pixalate said it plans to use the funding on its products and sales and marketing efforts.