Axios (website)

''Axios'' (styled ΛXIOS in the logo) is an American news website based in Arlington, Virginia. It was founded in 2016 and launched the following year by former ''Politico'' journalists Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. The site's name is based on the (), meaning "worthy of".

''Axios'' articles are often brief to facilitate quick reading; most are shorter than 300 words and use bullet points. In addition to news articles, ''Axios'' produces daily and weekly industry-specific newsletters (including Allen's ''Axios AM'', a successor to his newsletter '' Politico Playbook'' for ''Politico''), and two daily podcasts.

On September 1, 2022, Cox Enterprises completed its acquisition of ''Axios''.

History

VandeHei said he wanted ''Axios'' to be a "mix between ''The Economist'' and Twitter". The company initially covered a mix of business, politics, technology, health care, and media. VandeHei said ''Axios'' would focus on the "collision between tech and areas such as bureaucracy, healthcare, energy, and the transportation infrastructure". At launch, Nicholas Johnston, a former managing editor at Bloomberg L.P., was named editor-in-chief.

In 2016, ''Axios'' secured $10 million in a round of financing led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures. Backers include media-partner NBC News, Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective, Greycroft Partners, and David and Katherine Bradley, owners of Atlantic Media. The company had raised $30 million . It planned to focus on "business, technology, politics, and media trends". ''Axios'' generates revenue through short-form native advertising and sponsored newsletters. It earned more than $10 million in revenue in its first seven months.

In January 2017, ''Axios'' hired as an executive vice president Evan Ryan, the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and a former staffer for Vice President Joe Biden. ''Axios'' had 6 million unique visitors in September 2017, according to Comscore. , ''Axios'' said it had 200,000 subscribers to 11 newsletters, with an average open rate of 52 percent. The same month, it said it would use a new $20 million investment to expand data analysis, product development, fund audience growth, and increase staff to 150, up from 89.

In March and April 2019, '' HuffPost'' and '' Wired'' reported that ''Axios'' had paid a firm to improve its reputation by lobbying for changes to the Wikipedia articles on ''Axios'' and Jonathan Swan.

In July 2020, under the first presidency of Donald Trump, ''Axios'' received $4.8 million in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program for salary replacement during the COVID-19 pandemic. It later returned the money, with VandeHei explaining that the loans had become "politically polarizing". In September 2020, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that ''Axios'' was on track to be profitable in 2020 "despite the economic turmoil stemming from the coronavirus that led to broad layoffs and pay cuts at many media outlets".

In May 2021, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that merger discussions between ''Axios'' and ''The Athletic'' had ended, with ''The Athletic'' opting to pursue a deal with ''The New York Times''.

On August 8, 2022, ''Axios'' announced that it had been sold to Cox Enterprises for $525 million. As part of the transaction, Axios spun out Axios HQ as a separate software company. According to the deal, Cox owns 70% of the company, while ''Axios'' employees and its founders retain ownership of the remaining 30%. The acquisition was completed the following month.

Since 2021, ''Axios'' has launched a network of local newsletters across the United States. The company has also focused on growing its events business.

In March 2023, ''Axios'' fired Ben Montgomery, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, after he described as "propaganda" a Florida Department of Education press release about an event hosted by Governor Ron DeSantis "exposing the diversity equity and inclusion scam in higher education".

In August 2024, ''Axios'' laid off 50 employees, which amounted to 10% of total staff.

On January 20, 2025, U.S. president Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14172, directing the U.S. interior secretary to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America", which became a subject of controversy. The Associated Press (AP) refused to comply with the change. In response, the White House banned the AP indefinitely. While most news organizations continued to use "Gulf of Mexico", ''Axios'', along with Fox News and several others, quickly adopted the name change.

Content

''Axios'' content is designed for digital platforms, such as Facebook and Snapchat, as well as its own website. Its articles are typically less than 300 words long. In addition to its website, Axios content is distributed via newsletters covering politics, technology, healthcare, and other subjects. Among the newsletters is a daily report by co-founder Mike Allen, who formerly wrote ''Politico''s Playbook newsletter. Some Axios newsletters are free, while others are paid. The company sells a subscription service called ''Axios Pro,'' which bundles several paid newsletters, starting at $599 a year.

''Axios'' reporters have made appearances on television news on NBC News and MSNBC through a deal with NBC. Its NBC Universal partnership has featured co-founder Mike Allen on MSNBC's show ''Morning Joe''.

In 2021, the documentary series ''Axios'' on HBO won the News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Interview for its interview with President Donald Trump conducted by Jonathan Swan.

See also

* FiveThirtyEight
* RealClearPolitics

References

External links

*

{{COX

2016 establishments in Virginia
American news websites
2022 mergers and acquisitions
Companies based in Arlington County, Virginia
Cox Enterprises
Internet properties established in 2017
Mass media companies established in 2016
Podcasting companies