A special Axios AM Deep Dive into the New Washington and what it means for climate change.
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An Axios AM Deep Dive in what the New Washington means for Climate Change
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Aug. 31, 2021 02:15PM EST
Why the startup world needs to ditch "unicorns" for "dragons"
When Aileen Lee originally coined the term "unicorn" in late 2013, she was describing the 39 "U.S.-based software companies started since 2003 and valued at over $1 billion by public or private market investors."
Flashback: It got redefined in early 2015 by yours truly and Erin Griffith, in a cover story for Fortune, as any privately-held startup valued at $1 billion or more. At the time, we counted 80 of them.
- Ours was the definition that stuck. And, last week, the number of such companies topped 800, per CB Insights, with a cumulative valuation of around $2.6 trillion.
Why it matters: With apologies to Justin Timberlake Parker, $1 billion just isn't that cool anymore. It's not rare if there are over 800 of them, and certainly not mythical.
- Plus, there's been a flurry of startups whose valuations have been inflated by investment dollars. Isn't it more impressive to be worth $500 million on $50 million of venture capital than $1 billion on $500 million of venture capital?
We need a new word: Dragons.
- Dragons are much bigger, stronger and more awe-inspiring than unicorns. They destroy whatever's in their path, and their own destruction is viewed as catastrophic (at least if "GOT" is any guide).
- To qualify, a company must be valued at $12 billion or more, net of venture funding. Yes, it's a somewhat arbitrary figure. But it reflects the >10x "unicorn" growth since the Fortune piece, and the rapidly ascending private funding trajectory.
By the numbers: Currently, there would be 19 dragons. Of those, nine are based in the U.S.
- That's an even more exclusive club than Lee's original framing, although this is the sort of thing where less means more.
- The U.S. dragons are: Stripe, SpaceX, Instacart, Epic Games, Databricks, Rivian, Chime, Fanatics and Plaid.
The bottom line: Welcome to the age of dragons.
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Jul. 06, 2021 09:30AM EST
The high stakes of Branson and Bezos' race to space
When Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson take flight aboard the rockets their companies built, the hopes and dreams of a burgeoning industry will be flying with them as well.
Why it matters: Accidents or errors on these high-profile flights from Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin could derail their plans — and possibly affect others' plans — for commercial space tourism and travel.
Driving the news: Last week, Virgin Galactic announced that it would push to fly Branson and others on a fully crewed test flight on July 11, just ahead of Blue Origin's first flight with Bezos, scheduled for July 20.
- There has been a low hum of animosity brewing between the two companies in public since it was revealed Bezos might fly before Branson.
- That rivalry spilled over last week after the Branson announcement, with Blue Origin's CEO, Bob Smith, saying the two companies aren't after the same prize in these first flights.
- “We wish him a great and safe flight, but they’re not flying above the Karman line, and it’s a very different experience,” Smith said of Branson and Virgin Galactic in a statement via the New York Times. (The Karman line is the unofficial altitude at which space begins, about 62 miles up.)
The big picture: Launching and building satellites is a big moneymaker in the space industry, but suborbital space tourism is seen as a means of getting more people interested in the space industry in the long-term.
- In theory, these flights should be more affordable and available to a large group of people who will only need to train for a day or two before going to the edge of space.
- If something were to go wrong with one of these high-profile, early flights, it could threaten their business plans going forward and cast doubt on whether suborbital space tourism could serve as a boon for the rest of the industry.
Flashback: An accident during a Virgin Galactic test flight in 2014 left one pilot dead.
- After the crash, Branson considered stopping development of the company's space plane altogether.
Yes, but: The company did continue on, and public support for it has been steady.
- It's possible an accident from either of the companies wouldn't hurt public opinion of the endeavor as a whole.
- Depending on why an accident occurred, "I don't think you would see a mass exodus of Virgin Galactic reservation holders or a noticeable drop in interest in flying on Blue Origin," Pearlman said.
What to watch: A major failure or problem could also put pressure on Congress to start pushing for more regulation of private human spaceflight, which some argue could stifle the space travel industry just as it is beginning.
- At the moment, the FAA is not allowed to regulate the safety of "spaceflight participants" — Bezos, Branson or anyone else who would fly on one of these vehicles — until at least 2023.
- Instead the crews today fly under a regime known as "informed consent" where they must agree to and be told of the risks before launch.
- That moratorium on regulation was put in place in order to allow the industry to launch before restrictions were placed on it.
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Jan. 06, 2021 11:00AM EST
Your guide to Congress' certification of Biden's win
There's no doubt about the outcome — Congress will ratify Joe Biden's election win and he'll be sworn in on Jan. 20 — but that won't stop today's political theater that may drag late into the night.
- Here's our guide to watching the certification debate, with input from legislative aides, historians, election experts and Axios' Ursula Perano.
Details: The House of Representatives and Senate will meet in joint session in the House chamber at 1 p.m. ET to officially count and certify the 538 electoral votes ratified in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Expect objections (in alphabetical order) from members in both chambers to results from Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. There may be other objections raised, but to be debated they must be raised in both chambers.
- Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and Josh Hawley of Missouri will be among the objectors to watch.
- Nothing's stopping President Trump from live-tweeting the proceedings — and he has summoned his supporters to the nation's capital for protests.
Why it matters: The debate won't change the election results. There are more than enough Republican senators and members of the House who have indicated they will recognize the certified votes from the states to ensure a majority vote to reject the objections.
- But it will shake many Americans' confidence in their democracy and delegitimize Biden's legitimacy in the eyes of voters aligned with Trump. It will also draw battle lines for the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
- It also could test the potential for future alliances between Biden and embattled Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, per Axios' Margaret Talev — if McConnell determines Democrats can help him manage this breakaway flank of his own party.
How it works: Vice President Mike Pence will serve as presiding officer. If he decides to delegate the job, which is not expected, it would fall to Sen. Chuck Grassley as the Senate President Pro Tempore.
Trump has been pressuring Pence to overturn the election results, but that is not within Pence's ceremonial powers.
- Pages will bring in ceremonial mahogany boxes full of the votes from the states, which are placed at the front of the chamber. Pence will then present the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order.
- He'll hand each envelope to one of four tellers — who will be the ranking and minority members on the Senate Rules and House Administration Committees. They'll open the envelopes and read the vote totals.
- Pence will start with Alabama and end with Wyoming, stating that the certificate from each state “seems to be regular in form and authentic.”
- He has the power to recognize any lawmaker who objects.
- Any member may rise and object. If it is in writing and signed by both a member of the House and a member of the Senate, then the Senate leaves the House chamber and marches back across to the Senate chamber for debate.
- Each chamber separately debates each objection, with a two-hour limit, and holds a vote on the challenge. Then the Senate rejoins the House and the results of the votes are announced.
- Following the vote, they will move on to the next state and begin the process again.
- Once all votes have been recorded and counted, Pence will announce whether Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have received the required majority votes. If so, the announcement will be deemed "a sufficient declaration."
Timing: The process is expected to continue late into Wednesday evening, and could spill into Thursday depending on how long lawmakers want to draw out the objection process.
Go deeper: Read the Congressional Research Service guide to counting the votes
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Dec. 10, 2024 10:12AM EST

