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TechCrunch
a few seconds ago
- TechCrunch
Upwork is buying its way into corporate staffing beyond freelancers
Upwork, a platform that connects companies with freelancers, announced two acquisitions to help build out a new, standalone enterprise-focused business that could expand its market reach. The San Francisco-based company announced it has acquired Bubty, a workforce management platform, and has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ascen, a global compliance and employer of record company, ahead of its second-quarter earnings call on August 6. Upwork will integrate these two companies into its existing enterprise business to create a standalone entity under the Upwork umbrella. The move is significant because it will allow Upwork to offer access to talent beyond the independent contractor workforce Upwork is known for — essentially enabling the company to compete in new areas of the corporate staffing market. The new entity will support contract types including: agent of record, employer of record, and staff augmentation. Upwork President and CEO Hayden Brown told TechCrunch that the timing was right to launch this new enterprise-focused business because Upwork's existing enterprise customers have been increasingly asking for access to these talent pools. 'Most of the providers that exist today force their customers to choose between flexibility and compliance, or speed and scale, or having a digital tool versus having something that's actually robust and for the enterprise,' Brown said. 'And with this new capability, we're refusing to compromise. We're giving our customers all of the benefits they've been looking for, and we've heard loud and clear that they want this singular solution.' Brown said that Upwork's existing enterprise business makes up about $100 million of the company's overall $750 million in yearly revenue. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise on August 7. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Upwork decided to make the enterprise business a standalone entity because enterprises have very different needs regarding compliance and software integrations than the small and mid-size businesses Upwork's main business works with. Keeping them separate allows for better external branding and better internal focus, Brown said. Upwork vetted more than 100 potential companies to acquire to build out this business, Brown said. The company landed on Bubty and Ascen not only for what they bring separately but also for how they worked together — Upwork piloted the companies both individually and together. 'We saw through the power of those pilots how impactful their technology was and how easy it was to basically snap together what each of them offers, along with our existing offering to deliver something very new and innovative in the market,' Brown added. Details on the branding and full offerings of the new standalone business are set to be unveiled later this year.
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
Elon Musk's ‘spicy' upgrade to Grok spits out deepfake clip of Taylor Swift dancing topless: report
Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok got a 'spicy' upgrade that reportedly spits out explicit deepfake videos, including a clip of Taylor Swift dancing topless, according to a report. Grok Imagine, the startup's new generative AI tool launched Monday, created a six-second clip of the 'Shake It Off' singer whipping off a silver dress to reveal her breasts and wearing skimpy panties, according to the tech-centric news site The Verge. Even more troubling was that its spicy mode conjured up the NSFW clip without mentioning nudity when prompted to show Swift celebrating at music festivals, the outlet found while testing the software. The video generating tool on Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok has a 'spicy' mode that allowed users to create a sexualized deepfake clip featuring singer Taylor Swift. Getty Images for TAS Rights Management The Verge published the video but ran a black bar to cover the superstar's bare chest. The new feature's lack of safeguards against creating celebrity deepfakes and adult materials 'feels like a lawsuit waiting to happen,' The Verge wrote. The Post reached out to Musk, xAI and representatives for Swift for comment. Swift has been a frequent target of AI-generated explicit content across various platforms. In January of last year, explicit AI-generated images of the 'Cruel Summer' singer were widely shared on platforms like Musk-owned X and 4chan, sparking public outrage and urgent content takedowns. The situation escalated with deepfake videos falsely portraying her in political and sexual contexts, including through Grok. The controversy led to tech companies tightening safeguards and prompted Swift to consider legal action. US lawmakers began advancing bipartisan legislation to criminalize non-consensual deepfake pornography. The user guidelines for xAI, which Musk has positioned as a rival to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, prohibit creating pornographic depictions of real people's likenesses. Grok Imagine, which is available for those with Heavy or Premium+ subscriptions to Grok, takes AI-generated images and transforms them into video clips of up to 15 seconds using style options that include Custom, Normal, Fun, and Spicy. 'Usage was growing like wildfire,' Musk wrote on X on Tuesday, though he did not address the content moderation challenges that have emerged alongside this growth. Musk has touted the features of Grok Imagine, stating that more than 34 million images have been created since the feature launched on Monday. xAI, Musk's AI startup, rolled out Grok Imagine, a video generation tool that includes a 'spicy' mode. AFP via Getty Images The timing of the Swift controversy could potentially be problematic for xAI, given the company's previous entanglements with deepfake incidents targeting Swift. Deepfakes are synthetic media — typically videos, images or audio — which are created using artificial intelligence in order to realistically mimic a person's likeness or voice.
Business Wire
a few seconds ago
- Business Wire
Parents Want More Than ABCs from Early Education
NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In today's AI-driven world, parents are rethinking the role early education plays in preparing their children not only for kindergarten, but for lifelong success. New research from the Modern Family Index (MFI), commissioned by Bright Horizons (NYSE:BFAM) and conducted by The Harris Poll, reveals that 73% of parents feel the rise of AI has made durable skills, such as creativity, social skills and emotional skills, just as important as traditional academic skills like reading, writing and math when it comes to their children's development. This aligns with national conversations around early education. As U.S. News & World Report noted, experts are increasingly advocating for play-based, holistic preschool experiences that emphasize social and emotional development alongside academics. 'Parents today are navigating a rapidly changing world and want to do everything they can to set their children up for success,' said Rachel Robertson, Chief Academic Officer at Bright Horizons. Share These findings illustrate emerging shifts in what parents consider important in early education, emphasizing not only the value of academic preparation, but of skills that will help children be successful throughout their lives. In fact, the survey found that 82% of parents agree children entering kindergarten with confidence is just as important as being able to say the alphabet. Additional Results Identified: 73% of parents feel that AI will have a significant impact on the skills that are important for children to develop early in life. 79% of parents feel that developing creative skills will be crucial for children growing up in an AI-driven world. 71% of parents with children under age 6 worry about properly preparing their child(ren) for kindergarten, with the majority (83%) recognizing the need for their child to develop holistic skills (both traditional academic skills and soft / durable skills) to be prepared for kindergarten. 80% of parents with children under age 6 expect their child's preschool to teach them the skills they need for kindergarten, while an equal number (80%) wish they had the resources and support to better understand how to prepare their child(ren) for kindergarten. Most parents deem durable skills like socially responsible behavior (75%), social skills (74%), self-help skills (73%), creative skills (72%) and emotional skills (69%) as absolutely essential or very important for children to develop to prepare for kindergarten, similar to that of traditional academic skills like reading (73%), math (70%) and writing (69%). 'Parents today are navigating a rapidly changing world and want to do everything they can to set their children up for success,' said Rachel Robertson, Chief Academic Officer at Bright Horizons. 'This research makes it clear that parents are looking to preschools not just for academics, but for support in building a variety of both social and emotional skills. High quality early education that fosters curiosity, builds confidence, and nurtures the whole child is what truly lays the foundation for kindergarten and beyond.' About the Bright Horizons Modern Family Index Over the past decade, Bright Horizons has tracked trends impacting working families through its annual Modern Family Index (MFI), highlighting the unique challenges and priorities they've faced. In 2025, the report has been refreshed and encompasses several waves of survey data focused on timely topics to be released throughout the year. To download Wave Three of the 2025 Bright Horizons Modern Family Index, click here. Research Method The research was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll between June 17-20, 2025, among 2,100 adults ages 18 and older – among whom 653 are a parent or guardian of child(ren) under 18 years of age ('parents') and 235 are a parent or guardian of child(ren) under 6 years of age ('parents of younger children'). Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education, marital status, size of household, and political party affiliation to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents are selected among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. The sample data is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. Bright Horizons® is a leading global provider of high-quality early education and childcare, back-up care, and workforce education services. For more than 35 years, we have partnered with employers to support workforces by providing services that help working families and employees thrive personally and professionally. Bright Horizons operates more than 1,000 early education and childcare centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India, and serves more than 1,450 of the world's leading employers. Bright Horizons' early education and childcare centers, back-up child and elder care, and workforce education programs help employees succeed at each life and career stage. For more information, go to
