How does Via know who actually knows whom?

Most tools assume that if two people are connected online, they “know” each other. GTM teams know that’s not true. A social connection is not a working relationship, and a second-degree mutual is often meaningless.

Via takes a different approach.

Instead of relying on social networks, Via uses a combination of public and private data sources.

By grounding relationships in real history rather than assumed proximity, Via identifies who is genuinely positioned to make an intro - not just who appears adjacent on a network map.

Why this matters

Weak intros waste time, damage trust, and make reps hesitant to ask for help again. GTM teams need confidence that when Via says someone can open a door, it’s based on evidence - not on who liked whose content five years ago.

Knowing who actually knows whom is the difference between a warm intro that converts and a cold email in disguise.

How Via does it

Open Graph, Via’s underlying relationship intelligence layer, fuses three key data types:

1. Public + partner data

This establishes who overlapped where, for how long, and in what roles without depending on LinkedIn.

2. Proprietary inferences (600B+ relationship edges)

Via models relationship strength using structured rules (including but not limited to):

Long, close collaboration > distant org overlap
Multiple shared roles > a single brief connection
Recent work > outdated history
Startup overlap ≠ enterprise overlap (size matters)

3. Optional private signals (email, calendar, CRM)

When users opt in, Via strengthens scoring without exposing private content.

Via surfaces only high-confidence relationships - the ones that are trustworthy, contextual, and likely to convert into a real intro.

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