Upwork Quietly Becoming an AI Talent Powerhouse: Why it Matters

As more companies are racing to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), one problem keeps showing up: talent. In fact, 63% of employers cite a lack of AI skills as the top barrier to making meaningful progress. That’s where Upwork Inc. UPWK — an online employment marketplace — is starting to shine.

Upwork is now emerging as a critical bridge in the AI transformation journey. From social media giants to law firms and pharma leaders, companies are increasingly turning to Upwork’s deep pool of more than 80,000 AI specialists. And this isn’t just about simple chatbot prompts or one-off automation tasks.

One global social media platform, for instance, used Upwork freelancers to ensure the accuracy of training data for large language models. A top pharmaceutical company tapped a data science agency on the platform to build low-code AI healthcare tools. Even a Florida-based law firm used Upwork talent to build a custom GPT to organize its vast legal documents. These real-world examples show how Upwork’s freelance ecosystem is keeping pace with the AI revolution.

For investors, this AI tailwind could be a meaningful driver of long-term growth. As enterprises increasingly rely on flexible, specialized talent, Upwork’s relevance and revenue opportunity could deepen. 

How Fiverr and Microsoft’s LinkedIn Stack Up

Upwork isn’t the only player eyeing the AI talent opportunity. Fiverr International FVRR is also leaning in, expanding its Fiverr Pro offering to include vetted AI professionals. From prompt engineers to machine learning experts, Fiverr is marketing itself as a quick-turn solution for businesses exploring AI use cases.

Then there’s Microsoft’s MSFT LinkedIn, which has a vast reach and deep integration into enterprise workflows. LinkedIn is investing heavily in AI-driven talent discovery tools while hosting a growing pool of AI consultants. Thanks to Microsoft’s cloud and AI stack, LinkedIn can connect companies with experts and training, positioning Microsoft as both a platform and infrastructure partner in the AI talent race.

The Zacks Rundown for UPWK

Shares of Upwork have lost around 17% year to date compared with the industry’s decline of 6%.

From a valuation standpoint, UPWK trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.33, lower than the industry and its own 5-year average. 

See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Upwork’s earnings has been revised over the past 60 days.

Upwork stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research