Kroger Co. is bringing self-driving grocery delivery to Arizona.

Oklahoma state officials have held the first meeting of a task force that will study autonomous vehicles and how agencies and local governments should respond to the emerging technology.

Kodiak Robotics, founded in April by Don Burnette and Paz Eshel, said it has raised $40 million from a group of venture capital investment firms, including Battery Ventures, CRV, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tusk Ventures.

The autonomous technology gap between Ford Motor Co. and its rivals from Detroit and Silicon Valley can be measured in years. Yet even a company playing catch-up in the race to turn self-driving technology into high-margin businesses is drawing interest from outside investors, an indicator of just how much money is pouring in.