Web media analytics firm Moat has raised $50m (£35m) in new funding with the aim of developing a standard metric that can be used as a currency for buying and selling digital advertising.

Moat is primarily known as an analytics company, and specialises in tracking viewability, but the firm is working one a new measurement system that would help internet advertisers and publishers determine whether or not people were being impacted by the digital ads they were being shown.

Moats goal is to sell this metric to advertisers and publishers, and have it become the new standard by which ad deals are negotiated for online campaigns, rather than by traditional ROI measurements like impressions, clicks or views.

The objective will place Moat in direct competition with companies including Google, comScore and Nielsen, all of which currently provide ad serving data to the industry, often with enhancements like the demographic makeup of the audience.

However, many of these companies were built around standard display banner technology, and as digital formats expand and encompass in-app, native and video advertising, Moat is hoping there is room to disrupt the industry.

“The first thing I wrote down when we started this company five years ago was, we need to make brand advertising more effective online,” said Jonah Goodhart, co-founder and CEO of Moat. “Our ambition is to build the currency for digital advertising.”