Ambr, a burnout prevention software company, announced today that it has successfully closed its $900k pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Pi Labs, APX VC, Plug & Play, Loyal VC and a number of strategic angels.

"We are thrilled to have closed our pre-seed round and are excited to move forward with our mission to prevent workplace burnout" said Zoe Stones, CEO & Co-founder of Ambr. "Burnout is not the inevitable consequence of hard work, and yet for too many individuals and organizations, its costs are real. With the rise of hybrid work and the pressures of modern life, it has become increasingly difficult for managers to identify and prevent the root causes of burnout in their teams - with this funding, we will continue to develop our cutting-edge burnout prevention software to help them do exactly that.”

Ambr works by using anonymized and aggregated organizational data to identify the root causes of burnout in teams, and then alerts management when preventative action needs to be taken. The product is built using the latest academic research on organizational burnout prevention.  The product is particularly valuable for organizations operating in high-pressure sectors, such as professional services or tech scaleups, but can be used by any desk-based teams of more than 5 employees.

The company was founded by three ex-tech executives with backgrounds at Uber, Spotify, Accenture and Deloitte, after struggling to protect their own teams from burnout. Ambr addresses the mismatch between what most organizations spend money on - such as individual wellness like meditation, coaching or yoga (often referred to as ‘Wellbeing Washing’), and what is shown by research to actually prevent burnout - reducing organizational root causes such as a lack of time boundaries, meeting overload or poor working relationships.

With Ambr, organizations can target these root causes, rather than just treating the symptoms of burnout. This not only creates a more sustainable working culture, but also saves organizations money through reduced staff turnover and absenteeism, and improved productivity. Data from the CEBR shows that workplace stress costs the UK economy £28bn a year, while Harvard Business Review estimates that the US healthcare spend on burnout exceeds $125 billion. A recent Deloitte survey revealed that 77% of respondents have experienced burnout at their current job (rising to 84% of millennials), and nearly 70% of professionals feel that their employers are not doing enough to prevent or alleviate burnout in their organization.

"We were impressed by Ambr's innovative, privacy-first approach to solving the complex problem of workplace burnout.'' said Alex Breeden of Fuel Ventures. "Their software has the potential to transform the way people work, and we are excited to support them in their mission."

Faisal Butt, Founder and Managing Partner at Pi Labs, commented: “As the business world grapples with new methods of talent management, burnout has become a very real challenge affecting all generations within today’s workforce. We need better tools to help in-office, remote, and hybrid teams and businesses find a more sustainable rhythm to working life, in order to meet the needs of today’s teams, and future employees entering the workforce. We see the potential for Ambr to become a key tool in the future of work, one that can enable businesses around the world to use actionable insights to positively impact workplace management and team wellbeing.”