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Upwork history
Upwork company history timeline
In 1999, two programmers from California set out to create a website that would connect employers with potential employees.
2007: The combined company rebrands as "Elance-Upwork."
After interviewing with more than 60 companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 2011 Brown took a job as a product director at 70-person startup Upwork (then called Elance-oDesk). Nearly a decade later, she’s running the place—at one of the most turbulent times in the company’s history.
But, in May 2015 changed its name to Upwork after acquiring the domain Upwork.com.
On June 17, 2015, Upwork held its official launch in San Francisco.
In early September 2015, the service experienced an outage which led to an apology being issued by CEO Stephane Kasriel.
History Of Upwork Freelance Marketplace, In 2015, Elance-o-Desk was renamed Upwork, allowing clients to negotiate, hire and work with freelancers and agencies across the company platform.
On February 24, 2017, Upwork announced that it would launch a blockchain initiative.
As of March 2017, it reported 14 million users in 180 countries with $1B in annual freelancer billings.
On September 10, 2018, it was announced that Upwork is to be acquired by the $1 billion outsourcing firm Elance for $750 million in cash and stock.
In September, Upwork released a study of the United States independent workforce, showing that 36% of the United States workforce freelanced during the pandemic—a 22% increase since 2019.
In 2019, Upwork saw $300.6 million in revenue, up 83% over the last three years.
On Wednesday, the company reported a year-over-year sales increase of 24%, and said they are on track to see roughly $365 million in revenue in 2020.
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Upwork competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DocuSign | 2003 | $3.0B | 7,461 | 136 |
| Brafton | 2008 | $17.5M | 200 | 2 |
| The Associated Press | 1846 | $568.1M | 3,300 | - |
| Bridgehead Media | 2013 | $13.0M | 750 | - |
| Square | 2009 | $24.1B | 3,835 | 9 |
| The Editors | - | - | - | 8 |
| Book in a Box | 2014 | $640,000 | 30 | - |
| Twilio | 2008 | $4.5B | 6,000 | 64 |
| Okayplayer | 1999 | $1.0M | 30 | - |
| IBT Media | 2005 | $14.0M | 350 | - |
Upwork history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Upwork, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Upwork. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Upwork. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Upwork. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Upwork and its employees or that of Zippia.
Upwork may also be known as or be related to UPWORK, INC, Upwork and Upwork Global Inc.