Is Upwork owned by another company?

No. Upwork is an independent publicly traded company that owns itself. It trades on Nasdaq as UPWK and has no parent corporation.

When was Upwork founded?

Upwork was formed in 2015 through the merger of Elance and oDesk. Elance dated to 1998 and oDesk to 2003.

Upwork has multiple founders through its merger history: Elance was founded by Beerud Sheth, Srini Anumolu and Sanjay Noronha; oDesk by Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis.

What is Upwork's market position?

Upwork is the largest freelance marketplace in the world by gross services volume. It leads the market for project and hourly professional freelance work.

Technology & Software

Who Owns Upwork?

Q: Is Upwork publicly traded?

Yes. Upwork Inc. trades on Nasdaq under the ticker UPWK. It went public in October 2018.

Q: How does Upwork make money?

Upwork charges freelancers a sliding service fee on their billings and charges clients payment processing and contract fees. It also sells enterprise services, premium memberships and promoted listings.

Upwork is owned by Upwork Inc., a publicly traded company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker UPWK. The brand operates the largest freelance work marketplace in the world, connecting businesses with independent professionals for project and hourly work. Formed in 2015 by the merger of Elance and oDesk and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, it generated approximately $770 million in revenue in fiscal 2024.

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Parent Company

Upwork Inc.

Founded

2015

Status

Publicly Traded

Headquarters

Palo Alto, California, USA

mid rangemarket leaderGlobalOfficial Website

Who Owns Upwork?

Parent Company: Upwork Inc.
Ownership Type: Brand division
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock Ticker: Nasdaq: UPWK

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
Upwork	Upwork Inc.	Brand division

History of Upwork

Founded: 2015
Founders: Odysseas Tsatalos (oDesk), Stratis Karamanlakis (oDesk), Beerud Sheth (Elance), Srini Anumolu (Elance), Sanjay Noronha (Elance)

Upwork traces to two pioneering freelance platforms. Elance was founded in 1998 in New Jersey by Beerud Sheth, Srini Anumolu and Sanjay Noronha as one of the first online marketplaces for freelance work. oDesk followed in 2003, founded in Silicon Valley by Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis with a stronger focus on remote work tracking and hourly contracts.

The two platforms competed for over a decade before merging in 2015 under the name Elance-oDesk, rebranded to Upwork later that year. The merger consolidated the largest freelancer and client bases in the market and created the dominant platform in the category.

Upwork went public on Nasdaq in October 2018 under the ticker UPWK. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 drove a surge in remote work adoption that dramatically expanded platform usage, and the company has since focused on enterprise clients, AI-powered matching, and the 2025 launch of Lifted for large-company workforce solutions.

About Upwork Inc.

What does Upwork own?

Upwork owns the Upwork freelance marketplace and the enterprise subsidiary Lifted, formed in 2025 through the acquisitions of Bubty and Ascen. It operates primarily under the single Upwork brand.

Is Upwork publicly traded?

Yes. Upwork trades on Nasdaq under the ticker UPWK. It went public in October 2018.

Who founded Upwork?

Upwork was formed in 2015 by merging Elance and oDesk. Elance was founded in 1998 by Beerud Sheth, Srini Anumolu and Sanjay Noronha; oDesk was founded in 2003 by Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis.

Where is Upwork headquartered?

Upwork is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, in Silicon Valley. It operates with a distributed workforce and employees across the US and internationally.