Upwork Acquires Bubty and Ascen to Expand Enterprise Staffing Services

Upwork, the prominent online platform connecting businesses with freelance talent, is making a strategic move to broaden its market by acquiring workforce management platform Bubty and global compliance specialist Ascen. These acquisitions signal Upwork’s ambition to build a distinct, enterprise-focused business capable of serving a wider spectrum of corporate staffing needs beyond its traditional freelance model.

The San Francisco-based company announced the acquisitions ahead of its second-quarter earnings call scheduled for August 6. Bubty, a workforce management platform, and Ascen, a global compliance and Employer of Record (EOR) company, will be integrated to form a new, standalone entity under the Upwork umbrella.

This expansion is significant as it allows Upwork to tap into talent pools extending beyond independent contractors, directly competing in new segments of the corporate staffing market. The new venture will support various contract types, including agent of record, employer of record, and staff augmentation.

Upwork President and CEO Hayden Brown highlighted the strategic timing for this new enterprise focus, noting a growing demand from Upwork’s existing enterprise clients for access to these diverse talent pools. “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,” Brown stated. “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.”

Upwork’s current enterprise business contributes approximately $100 million to its total annual revenue of $750 million, underscoring the significant potential of this targeted expansion.

The decision to make the enterprise business a standalone entity stems from the distinct needs of enterprise clients concerning compliance and software integrations, which differ from those of the small and midsize businesses Upwork typically serves. This separation aims to enhance external branding and foster better internal focus.

Upwork meticulously vetted over 100 potential acquisition targets to build this new business. Bubty and Ascen were chosen not only for their individual strengths but also for their synergistic potential, as demonstrated during Upwork’s pilot programs where the companies were tested both independently and together. “We saw through the power of those pilots how impactful their technology was and how easy it was to basically snap together what each of them offers, along with our existing offering to deliver something very new and innovative in the market,” Brown added.

Further details regarding the branding and comprehensive offerings of the new stand-alone business are anticipated to be revealed later this year.