Upwork Inc. Introduces Lifted, a Subsidiary Serving Enterprises with Full Suite of Contingent Workforce Solutions

Lifted, an Upwork company, pioneers offering to help enterprises source, contract, manage, and pay global contingent talent compliantly and at scale

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Upwork Inc. (Nasdaq: UPWK), the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace, today announced the launch of Lifted, a wholly owned subsidiary purpose-built to serve enterprise clients with a unified solution that combines talent sourcing, contracting, and workforce management across every type of contingent work. By expanding its business offerings to meet the full range of contingent hiring needs across every classification and contract type, Upwork Inc. is advancing its leadership in providing the infrastructure for flexible work in the AI era.

“Our clients have been asking for comprehensive ways to engage the highly skilled talent on Upwork for their full spectrum of contingent workforce needs, beyond independent contractor relationships,” said Hayden Brown, president and CEO of Upwork Inc. “Now we can. Legacy providers have forced businesses to choose between flexibility and compliance, speed and scale, or digital ease and enterprise rigor. With Lifted, these trade-offs are a thing of the past. Customers get unparalleled value from a digitally native, fully flexible contingent work solution that integrates into their existing ecosystems..”

“Large-scale organizations are navigating increasingly complex workforce models, but the infrastructure to manage that complexity simply hasn’t kept up with requirements and expectations,” said Ernesto Lamaina, general manager of Lifted. “We created Lifted to address this challenge head-on. Our solution isn’t just another staffing vendor or employer of record. It offers the industry’s only tech-enabled platform with the visibility, compliance, and control companies need to scale their contingent workforces across borders, classifications, and procurement models. With Lifted, we’re redefining what it means to power the modern contingent workforce.”

Lifted is built for compliance-driven, complex enterprise use cases. This includes a contract- and country-agnostic platform that unifies sourcing and management of independent contractors, agent of record (AOR), employer of record (EOR), staff augmentation, and statement of work (SOW) engagements. Lifted integrates seamlessly into customers’ existing contingent workforce programs by partnering with managed service providers (MSPs) and vendor management systems (VMS). Lifted delivers global, automated classification backed by experts and payment infrastructure that supports every contingent workforce model.

Lifted’s capabilities are underpinned by its previously announced acquisitions of Bubty, a modular workforce management platform, and Ascen, a digitally native solution for W-2 compliance and employment. Bubty provides the flexible infrastructure enterprises need to manage a wide range of engagement models in one place, while Ascen enables fast, compliant hiring across global markets. With access to the Upwork Marketplace’s unmatched talent pool, including more than 250,000 AI experts globally, Lifted gives enterprises the technology, talent, and scale to manage their extended workforces efficiently and effectively.

About Upwork Inc.
Upwork Inc. is the parent company of the Upwork Marketplace and Lifted, its enterprise-focused subsidiary. Through its family of businesses, Upwork Inc. connects companies with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work model.

The Upwork Marketplace is the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace that connects businesses with highly skilled, AI-enabled independent talent from across the globe. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, companies rely on the trusted Upwork Marketplace platform and its mindful AI companion, Uma™, to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With on-demand access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork Marketplace enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.

The Upwork Marketplace has facilitated more than $25 billion in economic opportunity for talent around the world. Learn more at upwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.

About Lifted, an Upwork Company
Lifted is an Upwork-affiliated company, purpose-built to meet the needs of the modern enterprise contingent workforce. It provides a contract- and country-agnostic solution built for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay contingent talent—globally, compliantly, and seamlessly. Lifted enables companies to scale efficiently without sacrificing quality or compliance. Built for enterprise-grade workflows, Lifted supports the full spectrum of contract types and work engagements.

More than 25,000 hiring managers trust Lifted to support their contingent workforce needs, with over 500 new projects launched every week. Through Lifted, enterprises can access on-demand talent across 10,000+ skill areas, including the most in-demand AI fields. Learn more at go-lifted.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact:
Elisabeth Hutchinson
press@upwork.com

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