A large share of the sites offering to connect business owners with AI labs are referral services: they pass your details to a buyer's partner program and collect a fee from the buyer when a deal closes. Some are useful. None of them are working for you. Here is the comparison and the cases where a router is still the right call.
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| Dimension | An introduction router | Data Truffle | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price discovery | None. You are routed to the buyer whose referral program pays the router, and that buyer names its number. | The manifest is benchmarked against live demand from several vetted buyers before anyone is introduced. You see the range before the buyer sees your name. | Truffle |
| Number of offers | One, from the buyer you were routed to. A few routers offer a choice of programs, but you still negotiate each one alone. | Qualified sets go to more than one buyer at once, and competing terms are played against each other. | Truffle |
| Time to first number | Introductions are fast, often within a day. The number then arrives on the buyer's own timeline. | An indicative range within 24 to 48 hours of a complete manifest, then competing terms after sample review. | Even |
| Who pays the intermediary | The buyer, as a referral or origination fee when you sign. It is frequently undisclosed, and sometimes substantial. | You do, as a success fee from proceeds when a license closes. We take nothing from buyers, which is the only way to be on one side. | Even |
| Whose side | The buyer's. The buyer is the router's customer; you are the product being referred. | Yours. Every buyer is named before you decide, and the engagement letter says who we work for. | Truffle |
| Custody | Direct from you to the buyer. The router never sees the data, which is one thing they get right. | Direct from you to the buyer after signing. We never receive datasets either. | Even |
| De-identification enforcement | Whatever the buyer's standard contract says. The router has no role after the introduction and no stake in the terms. | Every buyer has agreed to a documented standard, verification, and deletion schedule before we introduce them, and we stay through signing. | Truffle |
| Exclusivity and field of use | The buyer's template. Nobody on your side is reading it, and there is no competing offer to negotiate against. | Non-exclusive by default. Exclusivity and field of use priced separately and negotiated against competing offers. | Truffle |
| Exit cost | Usually none. Some routers require an exclusive broker agreement for months, tied to one buyer, before they will introduce you; read the terms. | None before signing. Non-exclusive, cancellable engagement letter. | Truffle |
| Fee | Nothing out of your pocket. The buyer's referral fee is priced into what the buyer is willing to pay you, but you never see the line item. | A success fee from proceeds on a published schedule. Visible, and paid only when you are paid. | An introduction router |
Descriptions of the alternative reflect published terms and typical practice across the market as of November 2026; individual buyers, marketplaces, and intermediaries vary. Measured from a complete data manifest. A first offer is a process target, not a guarantee; buyers decide eligibility, price, and terms.
An introduction router is the better choice when you have already decided which buyer you want, you only need a warm introduction, and you have counsel ready to negotiate the buyer's paper on your behalf. It costs you nothing out of pocket. Before you use one, ask in writing what the buyer pays them, whether the introduction binds you to an exclusive period, and whether you can still take competing offers. If the answers are clear and acceptable, a router is a reasonable door to walk through.
What changes when you take a buyer's call yourself instead of running a competitive process: price discovery, offers, speed, custody, terms, and fees.
What happens when you list a company's records on a self-serve data marketplace: who sets the price, who holds the data, who enforces de-identification, and what it costs to leave.
Ask who pays them. An agent is paid by you from proceeds and takes nothing from buyers. A router is paid by the buyer, often as a referral fee, and typically has no role after the introduction. Either model can be legitimate; the difference is whose interests the fee aligns them with.
Not automatically, if it is disclosed. It means the router's incentive is to close you with that buyer, not to get you the best terms. The fee is also economically yours: the buyer prices it into what it is willing to pay. Undisclosed referral fees are a red flag; disclosed ones are a fact to weigh.
Only if the router's terms do not bind you to an exclusive period with one buyer. Some do, for months. If you are already in one, wait it out before going to market, and do not share a sample with anyone else until it ends.
Seven questions. No dataset. First offer in 24 to 48 hours of a complete manifest.
Measured from a complete data manifest. A first offer is a process target, not a guarantee; buyers decide eligibility, price, and terms.