Dive Brief: 

• Three-month-old startup MdotLabs just secured a round of $1.25 million in funding to expand services to spot and prevent fraudulent bot web traffic. 
• The funding will be used to grow MdotLabs' data science and software development teams, as well as expand its sales and marketing operations.
• The funding round, led by Great Oaks Venture Capital and Chicago Ventures, follows a report put out in August from MdotLabs showing that bot traffic may be costing the industry $180 million annually. 

Dive Insight: 

MdotLabs is getting in on the ground floor for the bot-fighting industry. Technology and tools, like what MdotLabs provides, will be one critical piece of the puzzle in curbing fraudulent traffic, but more needs to happen to solve the problem. Publishers need to stop buying the bot traffic and advertisers need to stop turning a blind eye to the practice. When there is no market for bot traffic, the practice will be forced to change.