Upwork

Key Findings

• Military: The only defence-sector link is a director’s outside role. Gary Steele, an Upwork director since 2018, became CEO of Shield AI in May 2025.^{1, 2} Shield AI says its small Nova quadcopters were used by Israeli forces in October 2023.^{3, 4} No source connects Upwork’s marketplace to Shield AI products.^{1, 5}
• Political: The only Upwork remark on the Middle East conflict found is a 7 November 2023 earnings-call answer about staff safety and business impact.⁶ Upwork gave dated Ukraine-related donations and platform measures in 2022, and no comparable measure for Israeli or Palestinian civilians was identified.^{7, 8, 9}
• Economic: Upwork has no Israeli subsidiary and no Israeli controlling owner in the filings retrieved.^{10, 11}
• Not found: No Israeli state or defence contract, Israeli entity, Israel-based data or R&D footprint, boycott campaign, or regulatory action was identified.^{12, 13, 10}

Target Profile

Key Facts:

• The FY2025 10-K reports customers in over 180 countries and about 71% of gross services volume from US clients.¹²
• Upwork has about 630 employees and about 1,600 independent team members.¹²
• Steele chairs the compensation committee and was re-elected on 4 June 2026.^{1, 14}
• The audits identified no Israeli subsidiary, office, data centre or R&D centre.^{10, 12}

Executive Summary

Upwork operates a global talent marketplace. The audits identified no contract, tender, supply relationship or technology provision between Upwork and the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the IDF or any other Israeli state body. They also identified no Israeli subsidiary, office, settlement operation or export-licensing matter.^{12, 13, 10} No public evidence identified of Upwork appearing in the retrieved OHCHR settlement-database coverage, or of an NGO or boycott campaign targeting it.^{15, 16}

The strongest documented vector is a governance overlap, not corporate conduct. Gary Steele, an Upwork director since 2018, became CEO of Shield AI in May 2025.^{1, 2} Shield AI’s own statements and press accounts say Israeli forces used its Nova quadcopter in October 2023 to explore buildings and tunnels.^{3, 4, 17} The audit states this is a director’s outside executive role, “not a documented Upwork corporate act”.¹ It also finds no source linking Upwork’s marketplace to Shield AI products. The audit could not determine whether Steele had any role in Shield AI’s Israel-related sales or statements.²

The second vector is political. On a 7 November 2023 earnings call, CEO Hayden Brown called the events “incredibly heartbreaking” and said Upwork has very few team members in the region and was focused on their safety. She added that GSV from the area is negligible.⁶ In 2022 Upwork announced a Russia and Belarus suspension, a $1 million Direct Relief donation, a $100,000 matching programme, Project Catalog and Airbnb.org credits for Ukraine.^{7, 8, 9} No comparable measure for Israeli or Palestinian civilians was identified. Context-only sources note that Gazan freelancers use Upwork, but they describe no Upwork policy on Gaza.^{18, 19}

Not supported by the evidence: digital or technology provision to Israeli bodies, economic ties to Israel or settlements, any Upwork-specific Israel policy, and any regulatory or legal action. The claim that Upwork was founded by Israelis was rejected as an uncorroborated, internally inconsistent blog assertion.^{20, 21} Final scores are Military 2.83, Political 1.25, Digital 0.00 and Economic 0.00, giving BRS 243, Tier D (Moderate Complicity).

Timeline of Relevant Events

Corporate Overview

Upwork Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Palo Alto. It describes an online talent marketplace with the subsidiaries Lifted (enterprise solutions), Ascen (managed services), Bubty B.V., and Objective AI, Inc., acquired in 2024.¹² Exhibit 21.1 to the FY2025 10-K lists subsidiaries in Delaware, California, Canada, the Netherlands and Ireland, and none in Israel or a Palestinian territory.¹⁰ The location of Objective AI, Inc. was not established, and it does not appear in the FY2025 schedule.¹⁰

Upwork traces to Elance (1998, Jersey City) and oDesk (2003, US and Greece), which merged in 2013 and became Upwork in 2015.²¹ A blog claiming Israeli founders and mostly Israel-based staff cites no sources and is contradicted by the SEC filings, so it is not treated as evidence.^{20, 10}

On ownership, BlackRock reported 15.2% (event date 30 June 2026).¹¹ The audits found no controlling holder and no Israel-specific exposure in the passive-holder filings. Engine Capital’s September 2024 campaign concerned strategy, execution and board refreshment, with no Israel or defence content.^{24, 25} Whether Engine still holds shares is unknown.

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified of an Upwork defence contract, defence-directory listing, militarised product, supply of components to Israeli defence primes, base services or export licence.^{12, 13} The sole nexus is board overlap. Steele, an Upwork director, is CEO of Shield AI.^{1, 2}

Act record for Shield AI, a director’s other company and not Upwork’s conduct:

• First observation: Israeli forces used a small Shield AI drone in October 2023 to search for barricaded shooters and civilian victims in buildings targeted by Hamas, per the company as reported by the NYT.³
• Later observations: Shield AI’s 6 March 2025 release refers to quadcopters exploring “buildings and tunnels for U.S. and Israeli forces”.⁴ Fortune (21 December 2025) says Nova was used in October 2023 to explore Hamas’ tunnel network.¹⁷ The sources differ on scope (buildings versus tunnels).
• Status: Unknown. The latest Israel reference describes the 2023 episode in the past tense. No Shield AI contract with the IMOD or IDF, and no Israeli V-BAT sale, appears in the opened sources.^{4, 17, 5, 27}
• Platform character: Wikipedia describes Nova as a reconnaissance and room-clearing quadcopter. None of the opened sources describes a weapons or targeting role for the units Israeli forces used.⁵
• Timing: Steele became Shield AI CEO on 13 May 2025, after the ICJ opinion, the ICC warrants and the March 2025 release. The sources do not say whether he had any role in Israel-related sales or statements.^{2, 1}

The examiner adjudication placed Impact in the Tactical Support band, citing purpose-built ISR hardware used in combat. It set Magnitude at 4.0 because the March 2025 company statement contradicts non-recurrence. It set Proximity at 5.5 in the board-overlap band, noting that Steele is a director and not a controlling principal.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

• Shield AI is not an Upwork group entity, and the overlap is a director’s outside employment, not a corporate act.¹
• No source ties the Upwork marketplace to Shield AI products.^{1, 5}
• Steele joined Upwork’s board in 2018, years before Shield AI. He became Shield AI CEO after the October 2023 episode, so he did not lead Shield AI at the time of the use described.^{1, 2}
• Nova is described as a reconnaissance platform with no weapons or targeting role identified.⁵
• Wikipedia’s V-BAT article lists no Israeli operator, and a citation headline in it referring to Israel is unverified.²⁷
• Wikipedia gives 12 March 2025 as Steele’s CEO date. That is the announcement date, not a conflicting start date.^{2, 5}
• Gaps: no Upwork-specific search of BlackRock’s own defence holdings was run, so that question is unresolved.¹¹ The Who Profits and AFSC checks were inconclusive.^{28, 29}

Named Entities and Evidence Map

• Upwork Inc.: none found in the OHCHR coverage, Who Profits pages or AFSC pages opened.^{15, 16, 28, 29}
• Gary Steele: Upwork director since 2018, Shield AI CEO from 13 May 2025.^{1, 2}
• Shield AI Inc.: Israeli-forces references; no IMOD or Elbit relationship found.^{3, 4, 17}
• Brown, Layton, Harvey, Kelman, Evan: no defence role, FIDF or reservist-fund link in the proxy biographies reviewed.¹
• BlackRock (15.2%): holding established; no defence-related finding.¹¹

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified that Upwork licenses Israeli-origin software, runs data centres or R&D in Israel, supplies AI or surveillance technology to Israeli bodies, or is linked to Project Nimbus.^{12, 30} The FY2025 10-K names AWS as host. Amazon is a Nimbus contractor, but no retrieved source links Upwork to Nimbus.^{12, 30} Wikipedia says Payoneer lists Upwork among its customers. Its scope and status are unknown, and no source shows Upwork payment data processed in Israel.³¹ The scoring record states no mechanically eligible Digital frame.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

• Upwork’s only stated property is the Palo Alto lease, and its workforce is largely remote.¹²
• The Payoneer link is only a customer-list mention. The Calcalist article on Payoneer’s Israel base predates 2020 context and does not mention Upwork.^{31, 32}
• Absence of evidence is not proof of absence. The Who Profits check was inconclusive.²⁸

Named Entities and Evidence Map

• Upwork Inc., Lifted, Bubty B.V., Ascen Inc. and Objective AI, Inc.: searched, none found.¹²
• Payoneer: customer-list mention only, status unknown.³¹
• Amazon/AWS: host and Nimbus contractor, with no Upwork–Nimbus link.^{12, 30}

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified of Israeli suppliers, importer-of-record structures, settlement-origin goods, Israeli investments, offices or revenue attribution to Israel.^{12, 13} The Exhibit 21.1 subsidiary schedule shows no Israeli entity.¹⁰ In October 2012, predecessor Elance announced an Israel launch, which is pre-2020 context. Its status after the 2015 rename is unknown.²² The scoring record states no mechanically eligible Economic frame.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

• Upwork is a services marketplace and sells no physical goods.¹³
• The 2012 Elance item does not mention Upwork, and no later Israeli presence was found.²²
• Atlantic Council context notes that Gazan freelancers use Upwork and pay a 10% commission. It describes no Upwork policy on Gaza or Israel.¹⁸
• The A/HRC/59/23 report text could not be searched for Upwork, so no finding either way is stated.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

• Upwork subsidiaries: no Israeli location.¹⁰
• BlackRock (15.2%), Vanguard entities and Engine Capital: no Israel disclosure or content.^{11, 24}
• Elance: 2012 Israel launch, status unknown.²²

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Earnings-call remark. On 7 November 2023, CEO Brown answered an analyst’s question on the Middle East. She said civilians were affected “in a horrific way”, Upwork has a very small number of team members in the region, and “We don’t anticipate any impact to our business as our GSV from that area is negligible”.⁶ The channel is a third-party transcript host. No later Upwork remark on the conflict was identified.

Comparative record. On 8 March 2022 the CEO announced the Russia and Belarus suspension, $1 million to Direct Relief and a $100,000 matching programme.⁷ Project Catalog and $100,000 in Airbnb.org credits followed.^{8, 9} No comparable donation, fee waiver, matching programme or platform measure for Israeli or Palestinian civilians was identified.^{6, 33, 8} The current status of the Russia and Belarus suspension is not established from the FY2025 10-K portions read.

Other items. No public evidence identified of lobbying, PAC giving, shareholder resolutions or executive statements on Israel-Palestine.¹⁴ No Upwork statement and no report of Upwork suspending Palestinian accounts in 2025 or 2026 was identified.^{18, 19} Advocacy sources list Upwork as a boycott alternative to Fiverr, and 7amleh rated it accessible but hard to withdraw from.^{34, 35}

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

• The company’s strongest defence is the negligible-exposure point. It has no Israeli entity or operations, and Brown’s 2023 remark, while limited, was neutral and humane in tone.^{6, 10}
• The Ukraine measures followed a direct operational step, the exit from Russia and Belarus. Israel and Gaza involved no comparable operational decision.
• No Israel-Palestine statement, lobbying or shareholder resolution was found. The only Middle East remark predates both the ICJ opinion and the ICC warrants.^{14, 6}
• 7amleh and Global Voices make no claim that Upwork discriminates. The barriers they identify are payments and infrastructure.^{35, 36}
• Limits: the transcript is third-party and the Staffing Industry Analysts article could not be retrieved. FEC, IRS 990 and lobbying records were not retrievable.
• The latest OHCHR update, per Qatar News Agency, gives 214 companies and names none. Whether Upwork is listed was not established.³⁷

Named Entities and Evidence Map

• Hayden Brown: author of the 8 March 2022 message and the 7 November 2023 remarks.^{7, 6}
• Erica Gessert (CFO): answered the macro portion of the 2023 call.⁶
• Layton, Harvey, Gretsch: searched, none found.
• Steele: re-elected on 4 June 2026 (78,600,865 votes for, 17,127,041 against).¹⁴
• Engine Capital: no Israel content.^{24, 25}

Complicity Index Score

Method: V6.6 (vetted).

• V_MAX: 2.83 Avg_OTHERS: 0.42
• BRS Score: 243 Tier: D (Moderate Complicity)

V_MAX is driven by Military. The Shield AI nexus carries a high Impact band (combat ISR hardware) but low Magnitude and a board-overlap Proximity of 5.5, because Steele is a director and not a controlling principal. Political contributes a lower score: its Proximity of 9.0 is high, but its Impact (2.5) and Magnitude (3.5) are low. The Digital and Economic audits found no mechanically eligible frame. The method is scale-free, evidence-only and human-vetted. Scores are fixed.

Methodology Note

• Evidence-only: every claim derives from the four domain audits (Military, Digital, Economic, Political). “No public evidence identified” marks checks that found nothing, which does not prove absence.
• Scale-free scoring: Impact reflects activity type, Magnitude reflects scale, and Proximity reflects directness. Formula: V = I × min(M/7, 1) × min(P/7, 1).
• Temporal rule: divested or exited operations and pre-2020 material are flagged and mitigated. The 2012 Elance item is pre-2020 context only.
• Entity attribution: no transitive guilt. A director’s outside employer is not treated as an Upwork group entity.
• Settlement operations dual-count Economic and Political. None were identified for Upwork.
• Unresolved or unverified items (Who Profits and AFSC listings, the OHCHR annex, Shield AI’s current Israel status) are carried with caveats and not hardened.