Tasimba “Simba” Jonga (UT, ’22) has a bold vision: reshape U.S. manufacturers’ hiring practices by connecting them with skilled industrial workers through Laborup, an AI hiring platform. Jonga, founder and CEO of Laborup, has attracted $7.7M in venture funding for the company from major investment firms like NVP, Torch Capital, Threshold Ventures, Westbound, Daybreak, Heartland and Market Square Ventures. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alum’s entrepreneurial venture also has prominent angel investors, including Jeff Jordan (general partner at Andreessen Horowitz), Evan Moore (DoorDash co-founder) and Jeff Dean (chief scientist at Google DeepMind).

Quickly Placing Industrial Workers

Positioned as a blue-collar counterpart to LinkedIn — but built for action — Laborup is building an autonomous AI system that speaks, listens and reasons to vet machinists, mechanics, welders, maintenance technicians and professionals in other skilled trades. The platform compiles profiles with verified skills, certifications and licenses in a fraction of the time consumed by forms, emails and phone screens.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re making centrifuges, packaged goods like beans or chassis for cars,” Jonga says. “You still need maintenance technicians and production technicians. These roles are universal. Every company is competing for the same workforce at varying skill levels.”

Since 2024, Laborup’s East Tennessee worker network has grown from 10,000 to 25,000, and the network is on pace to reach 100,000 across the state. With fresh capital, the company is scaling infrastructure and widening its footprint, with near-term expansion into Alabama, Georgia and Ohio. “Our goal over the next year is to reach 250,000 to 500,000 skilled workers,” Jonga explains.

Filling an Urgent Need for Cutting-Edge Industries

A recent Forbes feature¹ on AI’s role in manufacturing spotlighted Laborup’s factory-floor approach for the kinds of advanced manufacturers powering the country’s industrial resurgence and the industrial labor shortage they face.

Marianne Wanamaker, dean of UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, professor of economics at UT’s Haslam College of Business and former White House chief domestic economist, framed the challenge in the Forbes article as a labor supply concern.

“For most of the last century, American companies lived in a world of labor surplus — more workers than jobs,” she told Forbes. “That relationship has fundamentally changed. Workforce growth is slow, and companies now face a world of permanent labor shortages.”

Wanamaker adds that industrial roles are particularly exposed because most can’t offer remote or nontraditional schedules, making hiring qualified workers even more challenging.

Meeting that urgent need shows up in Laborup’s customer results. Employers use Laborup to find talent as actively as workers use it to find jobs. One employer utilizing the platform is Colortech, a color and additive concentrates manufacturer in Morristown, Tennessee. Tonya Shortt, Colortech’s talent acquisition specialist, praised the collaboration. Laborup’s team met with hiring leaders and toured the facility, and “within days, they delivered qualified candidates who not only met our criteria but were ready for job offers,” she told Forbes.

Laborup CEO’s Leadership Shines Through

Even as Laborup’s advanced technology and customer-focused approach continue to deliver strong results, Jonga’s leadership inspires confidence among investors.

John Bruck, general partner in the venture capital firm Market Square Ventures, was Jonga’s mentor at the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation when the Laborup CEO was a UT student, and he kept in touch with Jonga as he started Laborup. The venture capitalist saw a young entrepreneur with a clear vision of the problem he wanted to solve who planned his software platform buildout, assembled a team and executed a strategy to take it to market.

“All the while, he communicated well with his team, investors and customers, and he continues to do so, with an intense focus and work ethic that is truly exemplary,” Bruck says. “Simba is a great example why Market Square Ventures puts so much emphasis on the founder/CEO when we make our investment decisions. We’re proud to work with Simba and the entire Laborup team!”