Upwork Launches New Unit for Workforce Services with Enterprise Solutions and Managed Services.

Upwork has launched a new unit to provide workforce services, connecting businesses with independent talent through its marketplace. The unit offers enterprise solutions and managed services, including a payroll service for clients who choose to hire talent as employees. The platform provides access to verified work history and client feedback, as well as perks such as a verified client badge and highlighted job posts.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK), the world's human and AI-powered work marketplace, has announced the launch of Lifted, a wholly-owned subsidiary designed to provide comprehensive contingent workforce solutions for enterprise clients. The new platform, which integrates talent sourcing, contracting, and workforce management capabilities, aims to address the complex needs of large organizations navigating diverse contingent work models.

Lifted, which was officially introduced on August 19, 2025, is built on technology acquired from Upwork's previous acquisitions of Bubty, a workforce management platform, and Ascen, a W-2 compliance solution. The platform offers a unified solution for managing independent contractors, agent of record (AOR), employer of record (EOR), staff augmentation, and statement of work (SOW) engagements, integrating seamlessly with existing enterprise systems.

Upwork's new subsidiary provides access to its extensive talent pool, including over 250,000 AI experts globally, and offers automated classification and payment infrastructure supporting various contingent workforce models. This strategic expansion significantly increases Upwork's total addressable market (TAM), opening doors to enterprise procurement budgets previously inaccessible due to compliance constraints or integration limitations.

For investors, Lifted represents Upwork's evolution into a comprehensive work infrastructure company, driving higher-value enterprise relationships, improved retention, and expanded revenue streams in the growing contingent workforce sector. The platform's ability to manage global talent compliantly and at scale positions Upwork to capture revenue from enterprise workforce programs that require partnerships with managed service providers (MSPs) and vendor management systems (VMS).

Key features of Lifted include:

1. Unified Platform: Enterprises can source, contract, manage, and pay global talent across various employment types through a single solution.
2. Integration with Existing Systems: Lifted integrates with existing enterprise systems, reducing the need for fragmented solutions.
3. Global Compliance: The platform supports contract- and country-agnostic compliance, ensuring enterprises can scale their contingent workforces efficiently and effectively.

Upwork's president and CEO, Hayden Brown, stated, "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. 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."

Ernesto Lamaina, general manager of Lifted, added, "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. 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."

References:
[1] https://www.stocktitan.net/news/UPWK/upwork-inc-introduces-lifted-a-subsidiary-serving-enterprises-with-ic5v3pmgm5rp.html
[2] https://www.marketscreener.com/news/upwork-inc-introduces-lifted-a-subsidiary-serving-enterprises-with-full-suite-of-contingent-workfo-ce7c51dddb8ff123