EDINBURGH software company Codeplay is set to play a crucial role in the development of driverless cars after a £2.1 million investment from equity fund manager Foresight, half of which comes through a fund backed by the company behind the Williams Formula 1 team.

Codeplay will use the investment to create safety-certified artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving cars. The company plans to hire safety specialist engineers needed for safe and reliable AI in automotive systems.

Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund, which is a collaboration between Foresight and Williams Grand Prix Engineering, is investing £1.05m while the balance is expected to complete from Foresight venture capital trusts (VCTs) in the next few days.