What Six Degrees does

Six Degrees (六度智囊, legal entity Six Sheng Information Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.) is a Hangzhou-headquartered expert network and business intelligence platform founded in 2018. The company connects 2,000+ client organizations, including investment institutions, financial firms, management consultancies, and Fortune 500 enterprises, with a network of 1.7 million+ global professionals. Its core operations deliver one-on-one expert telephone consultations, custom industry research reports, and access to a proprietary meeting-minutes knowledge base across North America, Asia, Europe, and Southeast Asia, supported by 300+ project-operations personnel and 200+ headhunter consultants.

The platform is organized around four product pillars: Six Degrees Expert (六度专家), the core expert network service augmented by an AI-Enhanced Expert Database for intelligent expert matching; Wenda Polarisix (闻道Polarisix), an AI-powered Q&A system for industry and market insight synthesis; Yuanjian CVC (远见CVC), a management consulting brand co-incubated with state-owned enterprises; and the Talent Shop Partner (TSP) and Six Degrees Talent (SDT) executive-search brands focused on semiconductors, AI, integrated circuits, new energy, fintech, consumer goods, smart manufacturing, and real estate. Underlying technology combines a proprietary expert database, big-data infrastructure, an ISO-certified self-developed compliance system with AI-driven pre-project screening and real-time anomaly detection, and a dynamic meeting-minutes research engine.

Six Degrees makes money through per-engagement expert consultation fees, custom industry research projects and meeting-minutes subscriptions, retained and per-placement executive search contracts, and Yuanjian CVC management consulting engagements with Chinese SOEs and enterprises. Pricing is quote-based and varies by expert seniority, industry, and project complexity; expert calls are typically billed per consultation, reports per project or annually, and headhunting via retention or per-placement. Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales through eight offices (Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuxi, Beverly Hills, Palo Alto) supported by content marketing via the company blog, Zhihu, WeChat, and LinkedIn. The company has raised four funding rounds, most recently a 2025 Series B strategic investment of tens of millions of RMB from CICC Capital and CIIC Investment, with earlier rounds from BlueFocus, G5 Capital, Liepin, CGL, and 36Kr.

Name

Six Degrees

Legal name

六晟信息科技（杭州）有限公司

Website

https://sixdegrees.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Six Degrees is a Hangzhou-based expert network and AI-enabled business intelligence platform serving investment institutions, financial firms, consultancies, and Fortune 500 enterprises with one-on-one expert consultations, proprietary research, executive search, and management consulting across 1.7M+ global professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Expert Network Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF)

Keywords

• Expert network services
• Market intelligence platform
• Executive search
• Management consulting
• AI research platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Hangzhou

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Expert Consultation Services (One-on-One Expert Calls): Billed per consultation project, connecting clients with matched industry experts via secure telephone conference platforms. Services may include real-time translation and transcription. Revenue is recognized per engagement, with pricing based on expert seniority, industry, and project complexity.
2. Industry Research & Consulting Reports: Custom industry and market research reports generated by an in-house research team, as well as access to a curated industry meeting minutes database with expert insights. Delivered on a per-project basis as part of subscription or standalone engagements.
3. Headhunting & Talent Solutions (Talent Shop Partner & Six Degrees Talent): Executive search and talent acquisition services across specialized sectors (semiconductors, new energy, fintech, consumer goods, smart manufacturing, real estate). 200+ headhunter consultants deliver high-value talent solutions with dedicated service contracts.
4. Management Consulting (远见CVC): Strategic management consulting services co-developed with state-owned enterprises, leveraging industry wisdom and AI augmentation. Targets Chinese state-owned and private enterprises seeking management consulting support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Six Degrees operates a data + AI-driven expert network platform that connects enterprise clients with industry experts for one-on-one telephone consultations, custom industry research, executive search, and management consulting. The platform combines a proprietary database of 1.7 million+ global experts with AI-powered matching, ISO-certified compliance infrastructure, and a meeting minutes research engine to serve financial institutions, investment firms, consulting companies, and enterprise clients.

Product overview

Six Degrees is a data+AI-driven intelligent business information search, analysis, and HR services platform built around an expert network core. The platform operates as a unified ecosystem comprising the core expert network service (六度专家), an AI-powered Q&A knowledge retrieval tool (闻道Polarisix), and two executive search brands (Talent Shop Partner and Six Degrees Talent), plus a management consulting sub-brand (远见CVC). The platform serves financial institutions, consulting firms, and enterprises globally to improve investment research efficiency and decision quality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 六度专家 (Six Degrees Expert): Expert network service platform leveraging data accumulation and LinkedIn partnerships to connect clients with global industry experts.
• 远见CVC (Yuanjian CVC)
• 闻道Polarisix (Wendao Polarisix)
• Talent Shop Partner (TSP猎头)
• Six Degrees Talent (SDT猎头)

Products and services

• Six Degrees Expert (六度专家)

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of first expert interviews arranged within 12 hours of client request
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LinkedIn (微软旗下)coreTechnology or IntegrationSix Degrees has a strategic partnership with LinkedIn for赋能 (enablement) — leveraging LinkedIn's professional network data for expert identification and verification. The company uses LinkedIn's platform to enhance its proprietary expert database with verified professional profiles, contributing to its claim of being 'one of the most active and extensive expert network platforms globally.'

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Capvision: Capvision is one of the largest China-headquartered expert networks, serving investment institutions and consulting firms with on-demand expert consultations. It is the closest direct competitor to Six Degrees, operating a nearly identical business model in the same geography and customer segments.
• AlphaSights: AlphaSights is a leading global expert network competing head-to-head with Six Degrees for investment and consulting clients. Both companies emphasize rapid expert matching, compliance, and AI-enabled workflow tools to serve due diligence and primary research needs.
• Guidepoint: Guidepoint is a top-tier global expert network serving PE, hedge fund, consulting, and corporate clients with on-demand expert consultations. Its full-service model, teleconferencing platform, and advisor network overlap directly with Six Degrees' core offerings.
• Tegus: Tegus (now part of AlphaSense) operates an expert-driven primary research platform serving investment professionals with expert calls and proprietary research. It competes with Six Degrees for the same buy-side and PE customer base, with a stronger research workflow tooling layer.
• Third Bridge: Third Bridge is a global expert network and primary research provider serving investment institutions and corporates. Its interview-led research and Forum product map directly to Six Degrees' one-on-one expert calls and meeting minutes database.
• Coleman Research (BCC): Coleman Research, now part of Business Communications Company, is an established expert network serving institutional investors with expert consultations. It overlaps with Six Degrees' investment institution customer segment and core service offering.

Broad incumbents

• GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group): GLG is the global leader in expert networks and the established benchmark for the category Six Degrees operates in. It serves investment, consulting, and corporate clients with a global expert roster, providing the reference point for scale, pricing, and product expectations.

Emerging players

• Prosapient: Prosapient is a tech-forward expert network that emphasizes software-enabled expert matching and workflow tooling. It targets the same investment and consulting buyers as Six Degrees but with a more product-led, self-service orientation.

Regional players

• Liepin: Liepin is a leading Chinese professional recruitment platform and a Six Degrees investor. It competes in the headhunting arm (executive search) that Six Degrees' TSP and SDT brands operate in, and provides talent industry synergies and customer overlap.
• CGL (China Global Limited): CGL is a China-based executive search and talent solutions firm and a Six Degrees investor. It overlaps with Six Degrees' talent solutions (TSP, SDT) and shares the Chinese enterprise customer base across semiconductors, fintech, and consumer sectors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/six-degrees-intelligence

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Six Degrees