# Laborup

> Laborup is a Knoxville, Tennessee startup building an AI-powered recruiting platform for America's skilled industrial workforce - the machinists, welders, and maintenance techs that keep factories running. Founded in 2024 by former Stanford AI researcher Tasimba 'Simba' Jonga, it uses voice-first AI agents to interview and profile blue-collar workers in minutes, then matches employers to a vetted network of thousands of tradespeople. The company pitches itself as the 'LinkedIn of manufacturing,' promising faster time-to-fill, lower cost-per-hire, and better retention, and has raised roughly $7.7M in total funding.

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Headquarters:** Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- **Founders:** Tasimba "Simba" Jonga (Founder & CEO), Logan O'Neal (Co-founder (engineering/CTO))
- **Team size:** ~19 employees
- **Products:** Voice-first AI recruiting agents, AI skills matching, Vetted talent network, Agentic recruiting with backfill guarantee
- **Notable:** Raised ~$7.7M total funding, including a $5.8M seed round led by Norwest Venture Partners (2025), Backed by notable angels including Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean and DoorDash co-founder Evan Moore, Won the University of Tennessee Boyd Venture Challenge ($15,000 non-dilutive)

## Products & services

- **Voice-first AI recruiting agents** — Conversational AI that interviews skilled workers and auto-builds a profile and resume in about five minutes - no forms required.
- **AI skills matching** — Recommends and verifies trade-specific skills from an index of over 1 million skills, matching workers to hard-to-fill industrial roles.
- **Vetted talent network** — A searchable, pre-screened database of thousands of engaged skilled workers - machinists, welders, mechanics, maintenance techs, electricians.
- **Agentic recruiting with backfill guarantee** — Combines expert recruiters with AI and offers a quality/backfill guarantee, learning from real outcomes like show-up rates, 90-day performance, and retention.

## Achievements

- Raised ~$7.7M total funding, including a $5.8M seed round led by Norwest Venture Partners (2025)
- Backed by notable angels including Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean and DoorDash co-founder Evan Moore
- Won the University of Tennessee Boyd Venture Challenge ($15,000 non-dilutive)
- Co-founder Logan O'Neal placed 2nd in UT's Graves Business Plan Competition (2023)
- Grew a vetted worker network to 25,000+ in East Tennessee
- Founder Simba Jonga named a 2022 UT Torchbearer and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford

## Latest updates

- **2024-06** — Public launch of the platform, positioned as the 'LinkedIn of manufacturing jobs.'
- **2025-03** — Founder Simba Jonga featured in Knox News / Yahoo Finance video on why he based the startup in Knoxville.
- **2025-08** — Forbes feature and announcement of ~$7.7M total funding, including a $5.8M seed round led by Norwest.
- **2025-11** — Expanded operations into Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- **2025-12** — Simba Jonga featured on The Manufacturing Executive podcast.

## Links

- Website: https://laborup.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/laborup
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laborup.us/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laborup.us/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laborup.us

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/laborup
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-04