Integral Ad Science (IAS) is an American publicly traded
technology company
A technology company (or tech company) is a company that focuses primarily on the manufacturing, support, research and development of—most commonly computing, telecommunication and consumer electronics–based—technology-intensive products and ...
that analyzes the value of
digital advertising placements. Integral Ad Science is known for addressing issues around fraud, viewability and brand risk, as well as TRAQ, a proprietary media quality score.
[
The company evaluates the quality of online ad placements between media buyers and sellers.] It creates products for agencies and marketers, programmatic players and media sellers. Integral is a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is an American advertising business organization that develops industry standards, conducts research, and provides legal support for the online advertising industry. The organization represents many of t ...
and works with the "Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy" initiative by the Trustworthy Accountability Group.
The company is headquartered in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and has locations in Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, Berlin
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, London
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, Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
and Pune
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.
History
Integral Ad Science started as AdSafe Media, an online ad verification company. It was founded by Will Luttrell, Helene Monat, Foster Provost, Bryan St. John, Josh Attenberg and Kent Wakeford in 2009, with initial investment from Coriolis Ventures. In 2010, AdSafe Media raised more than $7 million in Series B funding led by Accomplice. In 2012, the company raised an additional $10 million in funding from Pelion Venture Partners, Accomplice and Coriolis Ventures.
In 2012, AdSafe Media rebranded as Integral Ad Science, a media valuation company. In 2013, ''Crain's New York Business
Crain Communications Inc. is an American publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 foreign subsidiaries.
History
Gustavus Dedman "G.D." Crain Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain Jr.; 1885–1973), previously the ci ...
'' recognized Integral as one of the Best Places to Work.
In January 2014, Integral's ad verification technology was accredited by the Media Rating Council. The company also raised $30 million in a Series D funding round led by August Capital. It has raised more than $47 million in total funding. In February 2014, Integral Ad Science acquired Simplytics, a UK-based mobile advertising analytics company. In March 2014, the company announced international offices in Singapore and Germany. In September 2014, the company announced Causal Impact, a ROI measurement tool for online advertising. It was recognized on '' Crain's'' 2014 Fast 50 and Best Places to Work.
''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' named Integral as one of America's Most Promising Companies of 2014. Integral was also ranked on the 2014 '' Inc.'' 5000 list. In January 2015, Integral's video ad viewability technology was accredited by the Media Rating Council. Integral announced its expansion to Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia in early 2015. In February 2015, the company opened its Anti-Fraud Lab for research and development of fraud detection and prevention in Seattle, Washington. In March 2015, Integral acquired Veenome, a DC-based video advertising analytics company. In July 2016, Integral acquired Swarm Enterprises, a San Francisco-based bot detection company to bolster their advertising fraud detection product.
In December 2018, Lisa Utzschneider was hired as the chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
(CEO) of IAS. The former CEO, Scott Knoll, moved into an advisory role.
In June 2021, the company held an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
of stock and began trading on the Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
exchange under the ticker symbol IAS. In August 2021, IAS acquired the CTV ad server platfor
Publica
for $220M.
TRAQ
TRue Advertising Quality, also known as TRAQ, is an ad quality scoring system created by Integral Ad Science. The system gives scores from 250 to 1,000, which buyers and sellers use to value media by assessing metrics including brand safety, ad fraud, page content and structure, time viewed, share of view, and ad clutter.[
]
Partnerships
Integral is partnered with multiple buyers and sellers, including agency holding groups and DSP's. Integral is partnered with Nielsen, which uses Integral's viewability measurement. In August 2014, Integral partnered with TubeMogul for anti-fraud verification and viewability measurement. In January 2015, MediaMath partnered with IAS to use Integral's pre-bid targeting tool, Bid Expert. In June 2019, IAS announced it was partnering with Verizon and multiple connected TV
A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV or, rarely, CoTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TV ...
(CTV) publishers, including NBC Universal and CBS Interactive, for a pilot verification program to tackle CTV ad fraud.
References
{{Reflist, 33em
Further reading
Faulty Fraud Predictions Are Harming Digital Advertising
External links
Official website
Business services companies established in 2009
Companies based in New York City
2009 establishments in New York City