Since Microsoft acquired LinkedIn about two years ago, it has invested a lot in helping companies and talent find each other and making the hiring process as effective as possible. Now, the company could be extending those efforts to freelance workers with a new acquisition.

A report from the USA Herald claims that Microsoft may be looking to purchase Upwork, a platform for freelance workers and clients to find and offer jobs. This isn't coming out of the blue, either, as the two companies have very recently worked together in the launch of Microsoft 365 freelance toolkit earlier this month.

With LinkedIn under its wings, Microsoft has introduced features such as Talent Insights and even started a new Talent division in Dynamics 365 with LinkedIn at its core. Having Upwork in its portfolio could bring these advanced capabilities to the more flexible freelance market, instead of focusing exclusively on full-time hiring.

According to the report, LinkedIn currently has 575 million registered users, a far cry from the 12 million freelance workers and five million clients on Upwork, indicating that the deal would greatly benefit the freelance platform as well. In fact, the company's stock rose 6% following the news.

For now, neither Microsoft or Upwork have commented on the possibility of an acquisition, but if the report turns out to be accurate, we shouldn't have long to wait to find out.

Source: USA Herald