Upwork, the San Francisco-based platform known for connecting businesses with freelancers, is expanding into corporate staffing through recent acquisitions.
The company has bought Bubty, a workforce management platform from the Netherlands, and is set to acquire Ascen, a global compliance and employer of record (EOR) provider. These moves form part of Upwork’s plan to create a stand-alone enterprise division later this year, offering staffing solutions beyond traditional freelance services.
By integrating Bubty and Ascen with its existing enterprise business, Upwork aims to serve larger organisations with diverse contract types such as agent of record, employer of record, and staff augmentation. This shift allows Upwork to enter the sizeable corporate staffing market, estimated at $650 billion, reflecting growing demand for flexible and blended workforces.
CEO Hayden Brown noted that enterprise clients require different compliance, software integration, and scalability solutions compared to smaller businesses.
“Most of the providers that exist today force their customers to choose between flexibility and compliance, or speed and scale, or having a digital tool versus having something that’s actually robust and for the enterprise. And with this new capability, we’re refusing to compromise. We’re giving our customers all of the benefits they’ve been looking for, and we’ve heard loud and clear that they want this singular solution,” Brown said.
Upwork is financially positioned to support this growth, reporting $194.9 million in second-quarter revenue and around $100 million annually from its enterprise segment within a total $750 million revenue. Analysts see its AI-enhanced staffing capabilities strengthening competition with traditional firms like Randstad and Adecco, as well as platforms such as Fiverr and LinkedIn.
Bubty and Ascen bring complementary tools—real-time contingent workforce management and automated onboarding with global compliance—which Upwork piloted separately and together before acquisition.
While integration challenges remain, Upwork’s move displays its ambition to evolve from a gig-economy platform to a comprehensive enterprise staffing provider, balancing agility with regulatory and operational rigour. Further details about the new enterprise division are expected later in 2025.