Upwork Inc. launched Lifted, a subsidiary designed to streamline enterprise contingent workforce management and compliance.
Quiver AI Summary
Upwork Inc. has announced the launch of Lifted, a new subsidiary designed to provide enterprise clients with a comprehensive solution for managing contingent work, which includes talent sourcing, contracting, and workforce management. This initiative aims to meet the diverse hiring needs of large organizations, moving beyond traditional independent contractor relationships. With Lifted, Upwork seeks to eliminate the trade-offs typically faced by businesses regarding flexibility, compliance, speed, and enterprise rigor. The platform is built to manage complex workforce models globally and is backed by acquisitions that enhance its capabilities in workforce management and compliance. Lifted promises to deliver a unified, tech-enabled solution that integrates with existing systems, thereby supporting a wide range of workforce engagement types while providing access to Upwork's extensive talent pool.
Potential Positives
- Launch of Lifted, a subsidiary aimed at enterprise clients, strengthens Upwork's position in the contingent workforce market.
- Lifted offers a unique, tech-enabled platform with a focus on compliance and management, addressing complex workforce needs of large organizations.
- Access to a talent pool of over 250,000 AI experts enhances Upwork's service offerings, positioning it well for growth in the AI-driven economy.
- The integration of acquisitions like Bubty and Ascen bolsters Lifted's capabilities, allowing for comprehensive solutions across various contingent work models.
Potential Negatives
- The announcement of Lifted, while ambitious, may suggest that Upwork Inc. has identified significant gaps in its previous offerings, raising questions about the adequacy and competitiveness of its existing services.
- The need for a separate subsidiary to address "compliance-driven, complex enterprise use cases" could imply that Upwork was not adequately serving enterprise clients before this launch, potentially impacting client trust and market perception.
- The emphasis on the complexity of current workforce models may indicate that potential clients perceive Upwork’s existing solutions as insufficient, which could limit immediate adoption of Lifted's offerings.
FAQ
What is Lifted by Upwork Inc.?
Lifted is a wholly owned subsidiary of Upwork, designed to serve enterprise clients with a unified contingent workforce solution.
How does Lifted benefit enterprise clients?
Lifted provides a comprehensive, tech-enabled platform that integrates talent sourcing, contracting, and workforce management while ensuring compliance.
What types of work models does Lifted support?
Lifted supports independent contractors, employer of record (EOR), agent of record (AOR), staff augmentation, and statement of work (SOW) engagements.
How does Lifted ensure compliance for enterprises?
Lifted offers global, automated classification and expert-backed payment infrastructure to maintain compliance across diverse contingent workforce models.
What is the talent pool available through Lifted?
Enterprises using Lifted have access to Upwork's marketplace, which includes over 250,000 AI experts and a wide range of skilled professionals.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$UPWK Insider Trading Activity
$UPWK insiders have traded $UPWK stock on the open market 44 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 44 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $UPWK stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- THOMAS LAYTON has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 500,000 shares for an estimated $8,746,450.
- HAYDEN BROWN (President & CEO) has made 0 purchases and 11 sales selling 260,351 shares for an estimated $4,078,569.
- ELIZABETH A NELSON has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 135,000 shares for an estimated $2,364,091.
- ERICA GESSERT (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 47,025 shares for an estimated $729,772.
- DAVE BOTTOMS (GM, Marketplace) has made 0 purchases and 9 sales selling 44,075 shares for an estimated $615,239.
- OLIVIER MARIE (Chief Accounting Officer) has made 0 purchases and 13 sales selling 19,110 shares for an estimated $286,251.
- LEELA SRINIVASAN has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 9,834 shares for an estimated $149,748.
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.
$UPWK Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 152 institutional investors add shares of $UPWK stock to their portfolio, and 165 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- DORSEY ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC removed 3,045,142 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $39,739,103
- T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 2,900,436 shares (-62.2%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $38,981,859
- FMR LLC removed 2,326,784 shares (-99.5%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $31,271,976
- PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/ removed 1,785,022 shares (-11.8%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $23,990,695
- MORGAN STANLEY added 1,623,488 shares (+52.5%) to their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $21,819,678
- CONTOUR ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC removed 1,506,610 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $19,661,260
- ALLIANZ ASSET MANAGEMENT GMBH removed 1,275,988 shares (-57.0%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $17,149,278
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
$UPWK Analyst Ratings
Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $UPWK in the last several months. We have seen 4 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.
Here are some recent analyst ratings:
- JMP Securities issued a "Market Outperform" rating on 05/16/2025
- Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 05/06/2025
- Jefferies issued a "Buy" rating on 04/07/2025
- Citizens Capital Markets issued a "Market Outperform" rating on 03/10/2025
To track analyst ratings and price targets for $UPWK, check out Quiver Quantitative's $UPWK forecast page.
$UPWK Price Targets
Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $UPWK recently. We have seen 7 analysts offer price targets for $UPWK in the last 6 months, with a median target of $18.0.
Here are some recent targets:
- Brad Erickson from RBC Capital set a target price of $18.0 on 06/02/2025
- Matthew Condon from JMP Securities set a target price of $20.0 on 05/16/2025
- Ronald Josey from Citigroup set a target price of $18.0 on 05/06/2025
- Bernie McTernan from Needham set a target price of $19.0 on 05/06/2025
- Brent Thill from Jefferies set a target price of $20.0 on 04/07/2025
- Nat Schindler from Scotiabank set a target price of $15.0 on 03/12/2025
- Andrew Boone from Citizens Capital Markets set a target price of $18.0 on 03/10/2025
Full Release
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
[email protected]
