The Driving Doctor has rebranded to Praiso after securing £500,000 of private equity investment.

The investment will be used to help improve its driver behaviour coaching app.

Alongside the new investment comes a new brand name to better reflect the market proposition and the company’s values, said Praiso.

Laurence Vaughan, chairman at Praiso, said: “I am delighted the unique proposition and potential of Praiso to provide AI-derived digital driver education has been recognised, not only with this new investment but by attracting investors with a serious pedigree in the successful development of high growth software as a service (SaaS) businesses in the automotive market.

“We are really looking forward to developing our proposition further and providing our customers with market-leading, disruptive solutions and services.”

In 2018, The Driving Doctor formed partnerships with TomTom Telematics, Fleet Trak and The Miles Consultancy (TMC). 

New shareholders and board members in the business include people responsible for delivering SaaS-based technology in fleet compliance, repair, and maintenance sectors, the company said.

Nick Walls joins as a non-executive director, bringing his knowledge and track record for the development and leadership of high growth SaaS businesses in the automotive sector.

Jason Fitzgerald joins as commercial director, responsible for the growth of all commercial activities of the business. Fitzgerald comes with a history of new business development, with over 20 years of experience building and leading fleet software sales teams.

Dominique Marie joins as development director, with over 20 years as a technology lead, with expertise in the design and development of SaaS platforms in the automotive space.

Marie previously held senior software development leadership positions in the telematics sector and fleet/workshop management software, building large scale SaaS solutions.

Fitzgerald said the rebranding of The Driving Doctor into a ‘accessible’ and ‘modern approach’ was vital for the company owners. He said: “Our new and enhanced branding, website and customer apps are focused on the attitudinal and emotional dimensions of safe driving.

“Providing our consumers with state-of-the-art technologies and real-time behavioural improvement programmes showcases the effectiveness of the product, both from a safety and cost-saving viewpoint.

“Everything from the name to the launch and re-brand of Praiso’s corporate identity has been carefully considered.

“Our intention is that Praiso will become a pillar of safety, sustainability and compliance across the entire automotive industry.”

The software platform won accolades including the Brake Fleet Safety award consecutively in 2018 and 2019.

The company said Praiso’s customers also report reductions in accident rates, speeding offences, fuel usage and lower insurance premiums.