Upwork Named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025

Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK), the world’s work marketplace, has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies of 2025 in the Human Resources category. This honor underscores Upwork’s industry-defining approach to reshaping how businesses and independent professionals achieve meaningful work outcomes—faster, smarter, and with greater agility—by combining human expertise with AI-powered tools.

“Being recognized by Fast Company as one of 2025’s Most Innovative Companies is a testament to how Upwork is actively shaping and leading the AI-powered future of work,” said Hayden Brown, president and CEO of Upwork. “We’re building critical, innovative products for the new work ecosystem in the AI age, bringing together the best of human expertise and cutting-edge technology to achieve transformative work outcomes.”

Innovation That Delivers for Businesses and Professionals

This recognition highlights Upwork’s leadership in revolutionizing how businesses connect with talent in the AI era. As organizations adopt more agile, skills-based hiring models, Upwork’s AI-driven platform is enabling faster hiring, data-driven workforce decisions, and seamless collaboration.

At the core of this transformation is Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI, an intelligent work companion designed to streamline every aspect of collaboration—from talent matching and hiring to project management and execution. Trained on millions of platform interactions, Uma helps businesses achieve results with greater speed and precision while allowing talent to focus on high-value, impactful work.

AI-Driven Benefits for Businesses

  • Accelerated hiring: AI-powered tools like the Job Post Generator have seen over 70% of new clients opt-in, with high-value jobs from new clients filling at an 8% higher rate since Uma’s introduction.
  • Smarter talent matching: AI algorithms analyze millions of platform interactions to help businesses find the right freelancers faster and more accurately.
  • Enhanced candidate evaluation: AI-powered insights enable businesses to assess freelancer qualifications quickly, improving hiring confidence.
  • On-demand AI expertise: Freelancers on Upwork specialize in 250+ AI-related skills, including model tuning, prompt engineering, and AI integration.

AI-Powered Advancements for Freelancers

  • Increased productivity: Uma assists freelancers in streamlining workflows, including drafting proposals, coding, and content creation.
  • AI-assisted proposals: Advanced tools help freelancers craft stronger, more personalized proposals, increasing their chances of winning work.
  • Higher earnings potential: Freelancers working on AI-related projects are earning 44% more per hour than those in non-AI fields.

Growing Demand for AI-Driven Work

Upwork continues to see a significant increase in AI-related projects, with:

  • A 60% year-over-year increase in gross services volume (GSV) from AI-related work.
  • A 42% increase in clients engaging with AI projects on the platform.

These trends highlight the growing need for agile, technology-enabled solutions and highly skilled AI professionals in today’s evolving work landscape.

Creating Economic Opportunity at Scale

Upwork has facilitated over $20 billion in economic opportunities for independent talent across 180+ countries, helping businesses scale faster while providing professionals with work opportunities beyond traditional geographic and hiring limitations.

“At Upwork, we’re breaking down barriers that prevent businesses and professionals from achieving their goals,” said Brown. “We ensure that businesses can access the global talent they need, faster and more affordably, while enabling professionals to thrive on their own terms. This recognition from Fast Company reflects our vision for a better, more innovative world of work.”