Upwork - About the company
Upwork is a public company based in San Francisco (United States), founded in 1999 by Stratis Karamanlakis, Srini Anumolu and Sanjay Noronha. It operates as a Provider of freelance marketplace connecting businesses with independent talents. Upwork has raised $74M in funding from investors like Benchmark, SV Angel and DAG Ventures. The company has 1750 active competitors, including 136 funded and 59 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like Fiverr, Freelancer and Braintrust.
Company Details
Provider of freelance marketplace connecting businesses with independent talents. It offers an AI powered suggestions, screening questions, and boosted proposals for visibility, built-in tool with screenshots and activity logs for hourly work transparency . It provides in-app messaging, file sharing, video calls, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
- Website
- upwork.com
- Email ID
- *****@upwork.com
- Phone Number
- +1 **********
- Registered Address
- Santa Clara, California
Key Metrics
Founded Year
1999
Location
San Francisco, United States
Stage
Public
Total Funding
$74M in 6 rounds
Latest Funding Round
Ranked
1st among 1750 active competitors
Annual Revenue
$500M - $1B as on Dec 31, 2025
Employee Count
179,756 as on Sep 30, 2026
Exit Details
Public
Legal entities associated with Upwork
Upwork is associated with 3 legal entities given below:
Legal Entity Name | Date of Incorporation | Revenue | Latest Employee Count | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ELANCE LIMITED CIN: 997380282 , Norway, Active | Jun 15, 2011 | - | - | |
UPWORK INC. CIN: 1627475 , United States, Active | Dec 12, 2013 | $500M - $1B (As on Dec 31, 2025) | - | - |
ELANCE-ODESK, INC. CIN: 464337682 , United States, Active | Dec 31, 1999 | - | 619 (As on Dec 31, 2024) | - |
Upwork's IPO details
Upwork got listed on Oct 03, 2018.
Click here to take a look at Upwork's IPO in detail
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Upwork's funding and investors
Upwork has raised a total funding of $74M over 6 rounds. Its first funding round was on Apr 25, 2006. Upwork has 25 institutional investors and 1 angel investor.
Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Upwork:
Filter this list
Date of Funding | Funding Amount | Round Name | Post-Money Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 10, 2021 | 1997213 | Post IPO | 3148603 | 3452306 | 8767024 | 4943479 |
Nov 25, 2014 | 4406486 | Series E | 1778292 | 4856091 | 5365726 | |
Apr 04, 2012 | 2703608 | Series D | 7611809 | 7661838 |
View details of Upwork's funding rounds and investors
Upwork's founders and board of directors
Founder? Claim ProfileThe founders of Upwork are Stratis Karamanlakis, Srini Anumolu and Sanjay Noronha. Hayden Brown is the CEO of Upwork.
Here are the details of Upwork's key team members:
- Stratis Karamanlakis: Former Co-Founder of Upwork. Contact Info: 1 email address
- Srini Anumolu: Former Co-Founder of Upwork. Contact Info: 1 email address
- Sanjay Noronha: Former Co-Founder of Upwork. Contact Info: 1 email address
- Hayden Brown: CEO of Upwork. Contact Info: 1 email address
View details of Upwork's Founder profiles and Board Members
Upwork's employee count trend
Upwork has 179,756 employees as of Sep 26. Here is Upwork's employee count trend over the years:
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Upwork's Competitors and alternates
Top competitors of Upwork include Fiverr, Freelancer and Braintrust. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Upwork, ranked by Tracxn score:
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Rank | Company Details | Short Description | Total Funding | Investors | Tracxn Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Upwork 1999, San Francisco (United States), Public | Provider of freelance marketplace connecting businesses with independent talents | $74M | 83/100 | |
2nd | Online freelance marketplace for multi-industry | $111M | 80/100 | ||
3rd | Freelancer 2009, Sydney (Australia), Public | Online freelancer marketplace for multiple industries | - | 68/100 | |
4th | Braintrust 2018, San Francisco (United States), Series A | Decentralized marketplace for tech freelancers | $29M | 67/100 | |
5th | PeoplePerHour 2007, London (United Kingdom), Series A | Freelance Marketplace | $33.2M | 65/100 | |
6th | Contra 2019, San Francisco (United States), Series B | Online freelance professionals networking platform | $45M | 62/100 | |
7th | Earn.com 2013, San Francisco (United States), Acquired | Decentralized network for reward-based task completion | $5.05M | 61/100 | |
8th | Creative Market 2010, San Francisco (United States), Acquired | Marketplace for Digital Designer Content | $11.8M | 57/100 | |
9th | Online freelancing marketplace for multiple industries | $4.8M | 57/100 | ||
10th | Online freelancer marketplace | - | - | 56/100 |
Looking for more details on Upwork's competitors? Click here to see the top ones
Upwork's Investments and acquisitions
Upwork has made 2 investments in companies including DisruptED and Remine. Upwork has also acquired 2 companies including Ascen and Bubty.Here is the list of investments & acquisitions:
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Date of Investment/Acquisition | Type | Company Name | Founded Year | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 06, 2025 | Acquisition | 2018 | Boston (United States) | |
Aug 06, 2025 | Acquisition | 2019 | The Hague (Netherlands) | |
Jul 08, 2020 | Investments | 2016 | Austin (United States) |
Reports related to Upwork
Here is the latest report on Upwork's sector:
News related to Upwork
Media has covered Upwork for a total of 38 events in the last 1 year, 25 of them have been about company updates and 3 about partnerships.
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Upwork Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Record GSV per Active ClientHrtechfeed•Aug 11, 2026•Upwork
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Sabrina Mekhalfa Sells 1,276 Shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stockbaseballnewssource.com•Jun 23, 2026•Upwork
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Upwork Announces Board Refreshment, Strengthening Financial and Operational Expertise for Its Next ChapterHrtechfeed•Jun 05, 2026•Upwork
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Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of Upwork Inc.GlobeNewswire•Jun 02, 2026•Pomerantz, Upwork
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Payoneer and Upwork Extend 15-Year Partnership to Power Global Freelance PaymentsGlobal Fintech Series•May 14, 2026•Upwork, Payoneer
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Upwork's Q1 2026 Earnings: Cost Cuts, Layoffs Amid Slow Growth and AI FocusHrtechfeed•May 09, 2026•Upwork
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Upwork Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Raises Full Year GuidanceHrtechfeed•May 07, 2026•Upwork
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