The UK self-driving car technology startup Wayve has secured more than $1bn (£800m) of investment to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence-powered vehicles, with the funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank. The $1.05bn investment is backed by the Japanese conglomerate along with the California chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft, and is the biggest investment to date in a European AI startup. Wayve, which was founded in London in 2017, will use the funds to develop and launch the first “embodied AI” technology for self-driving vehicles in the UK. Related: UK housing market ‘finding its feet’ as prices inch higher; BP profits miss forecasts – business live Embodied AI will enable automated vehicles to learn from and interact with a real-world environment, including the ability to learn from situations that do not follow strict patterns or rules, such as unexpected actions by drivers or pedestrians. Alex Kendall, the co-founder and chief executive of Wayve, said: “This investment will help us launch our embodied AI products and expand our operations globally. It sends a crucial signal to the market of the strength of the UK’s AI ecosystem, and we look forward to watching more AI companies here thrive and scale.” Wayve’s technology...