Omic OS, a systems biology AI platform for drug discovery, needed specialists with both deep biological knowledge and modern AI expertise—skills rarely found locally. Through Upwork, their 15-person team built a global network of experts including a clinical geneticist from Scotland (now CSO) and a systems engineer in Vietnam managing their HPC cluster. The platform's talent pool and Uma AI tools helped them find matches within days instead of months, freeing resources for core priorities and enabling a lean team to operate with capabilities of a much larger organization.

Microsoft's Office Video and Production Team faced a request to produce nine videos within 10 days—well beyond their small internal team's bandwidth. Through Upwork's Enterprise Suite, they discovered skilled independent professionals ready to complete quick, low-cost, high-quality video production at scale. The initial project was completed in nine days without requiring any editing, exceeding expectations. By adopting a hybrid work model leveraging both full-time and independent talent, Microsoft team members now have more time to focus strategically. The freelance model has become the greatest change in 20+ years with regard to production and budget, enabling continual production and even larger scaling.

The Workplace Depot, a U.K.-based e-commerce industrial supplies company with 20,000+ products, needed high-quality artwork for every stage of the product life cycle. Hiring employees was difficult and agencies were too costly. Through Upwork, they built a core freelance team across 8 countries spanning 4 continents, including specialists in 3D animation (Kazakhstan), email marketing (U.K.), user manuals (Philippines), packaging design (Kazakhstan), and graphic design (Nigeria). Time zone differences enabled 24-hour productivity cycles.

Microsoft's Office Video and Production Team faced a request to produce nine videos within 10 days—well beyond their small internal team's bandwidth. Through Upwork's Enterprise Suite, they discovered skilled independent professionals ready to complete quick, low-cost, high-quality video production at scale. The initial project was completed in nine days without requiring any editing, exceeding expectations. By adopting a hybrid work model leveraging both full-time and independent talent, Microsoft team members now have more time to focus strategically. The freelance model has become the greatest change in 20+ years with regard to production and budget, enabling continual production and even larger scaling.