Freelance marketplace Upwork is making a bold push into the corporate staffing world, announcing the acquisition of two companies to power a new enterprise-focused division aimed at providing more than just freelance talent.
The company has acquired Bubty, a workforce management platform, and signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ascen, a global compliance and employer of record (EOR) firm.
The move, revealed just before Upwork's Q2 earnings call on August 6, reflects its strategy to cater to the growing demands of large organizations seeking more flexible and compliant staffing solutions.
Upwork moves beyond freelancing
While Upwork has traditionally connected businesses with freelancers, this latest shift signals a broader ambition. The company plans to combine Bubty and Ascen’s capabilities with its existing enterprise services to form a stand-alone entity under the Upwork brand. This new division will support a variety of employment models, including staff augmentation, agent of record, and employer of record services.
Upwork CEO Hayden Brown said the decision stems from increasing demand among enterprise clients for access to diverse talent pools that go beyond the platform’s core freelance offerings.
“Most providers force customers to choose between flexibility and compliance, or speed and scale,” Brown told TechCrunch. “With this new capability, we’re giving customers all the benefits they’ve been looking for. They want a singular solution — and now we’re delivering it.”
$100 million enterprise business to be spun off
Upwork’s enterprise division currently generates around $100 million of its total $750 million annual revenue. However, according to Brown, enterprise clients have unique needs, especially regarding legal compliance and software integration — factors that distinguish them from Upwork’s traditional base of small and medium-sized businesses.
Creating a separate entity allows for sharper branding and internal specialization, giving enterprise clients a platform tailored to their scale and regulatory demands.
Why Bubty and Ascen?
Upwork considered more than 100 potential acquisitions before selecting Bubty and Ascen. Both firms were individually piloted with Upwork, and later tested together. The results reportedly showed how well the companies’ technologies complemented each other — and how seamlessly they could integrate with Upwork’s own infrastructure.
“We saw through the power of those pilots how impactful their technology was,” Brown said. “It was easy to snap together what each of them offers to deliver something very new and innovative.”
What's next?
Upwork has not yet announced the brand name or complete suite of services for the new business, but says more details will be unveiled later this year. The company aims to offer a unified platform that provides both flexibility and robust compliance — a significant differentiator in the growing enterprise workforce market.
With this strategic expansion, Upwork is signaling its intent to compete more directly with legacy staffing firms and enterprise-level talent platforms, potentially reshaping how corporations hire — far beyond the gig economy.
