Upwork, the world’s work marketplace, and OpenAI, a leading AI research and deployment company, today announced OpenAI Experts on Upwork, giving OpenAI customers and other businesses direct access to trusted expert independent professionals deeply experienced in working with OpenAI technologies.
Upwork and OpenAI co-designed the program to feature talent adept at working with the OpenAI API platform and to draw from the 250 unique AI skills available on Upwork, including GPT-4, Whisper and AI model integration.
With Upwork’s marketplace, OpenAI is already leveraging talent from the Upwork platform to support its own innovation and growth, and quickly saw value in helping its customers connect to talent on Upwork, leading to the new partnership.
Together, the companies identified the most common use cases for OpenAI customers – like building applications powered by large language models (LLMs), fine-tuning models and developing chatbots with responsible AI in mind – along with the key skills required for success. The two companies also formulated a pre-vetting process for identifying AI experts who appear as part of the program.
OpenAI Experts on Upwork is an extension of Upwork’s AI Services hub, which connects companies with some of the most skilled independent professionals in AI fields from across the globe, along with new beta features and resources that help customers get work done faster and more effectively on Upwork.
The program leverages Upwork’s talent managers to pre-vet and curate talent with AI expertise and experience with the OpenAI platform. The process includes a discussion of technical skills and an OpenAI project portfolio, ensuring professionals have verified skill sets and experience. Clients can engage with OpenAI Experts on Upwork via 1:1 consultations or project-based contracts.
“Partnering with a pioneer like OpenAI helps us deliver access to the specialized talent that businesses need to achieve their most ambitious AI initiatives,” said Dave Bottoms, general manager and VP of product for the Upwork Marketplace.
“We are thrilled to offer talented professionals on Upwork even more impactful opportunities, and look forward to connecting OpenAI customers with highly skilled talent through OpenAI Experts on Upwork. Through strategic partnerships like this one, we aim to make Upwork the preeminent destination for AI-related talent and work.”
“Our aim is for our models to be useful and beneficial for everyone, and we are committed to helping people understand how our technology can impact critical work,” said Aliisa Rosenthal, head of sales at OpenAI. “Providing customers with access to a trusted source of highly skilled global talent like Upwork can help ensure AI models are deployed and managed responsibly.”
“Organizations ranging from small startups to some of the world’s largest enterprises are turning to independent experts to create new solutions and expand their businesses,” said Boris Spiegl, an independent AI and machine learning expert participating in OpenAI Experts on Upwork.
“Having delivered millions of dollars in value on projects over the course of my career, I’m greatly looking forward to the next big challenges in partnering with OpenAI customers to deliver even more ROI through application of these exciting new technologies.”
The partnership builds on Upwork’s recent announcement of new beta features powered by OpenAI technologies as part of a more generative AI-infused end-to-end customer experience on its platform, including an AI-powered job post generator, an enhanced Upwork chat experience and proposal tips for talent.
