depend on vs build upon

depend on and build upon both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
depend on	No	No	Yes	No
build upon	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, build upon is a hyponym of depend on; that is, build upon is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than depend on:

Other hyponyms of depend on include build on, repose on, rest on.

depend on (verb)	build upon (verb)
be contingent on	use as a basis for theories and claims
be dependent on, as for support or maintenance
put trust in with confidence