Simba Jonga had access to leading artificial intelligence companies and world-class investors in Silicon Valley, but not to the ideal first customers for his company.
He found those customers back in Knoxville, where he graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2022 before attending Stanford University for graduate studies. His platform, an AI-driven app called Laborup, connects skilled manufacturing workers with employers who desperately need them.
The company has been called, by Jonga and others, the LinkedIn for blue-collar workers. For those who don’t prefer the term “blue-collar,” Laborup has another term for machine operators and welders: “America’s most critical workforce.”
Basing the tech startup in Knoxville made sense not only because it’s familiar to Jonga, but because of the potent combination of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority and UT, all of which work in tandem and attract advanced manufacturers in industries like aerospace and defense.
Laborup’s team of five full-time employees works out of the 121 Tech Hub, a co-working space that launched last year and has attracted several startups. In the six months since the company launched its platform for job seekers, more than 12,500 skilled manufacturers have created profiles. Many have landed jobs.
The company uses AI voice models to interview job seekers and help them create a profile that showcases their skills.
One of its voices is named Suzanne after Suzanne Sawicki, a key mentor for Jonga at the Tickle College of Engineering at UT. After graduating with degrees in chemical engineering and economics, Jonga headed for California, where he studied AI through Stanford’s selective Knight-Hennessey Scholars program.
