Axios

The lightest element on the periodic table could soon be used to power the heaviest of engines.

What’s happening: Caterpillar, BNSF Railway and Chevron on Tuesday announced a plan to develop a hydrogen-powered locomotive system.

Companies are rushing to build for a metaverse — even as consumers are still trying to understand the concept.

Driving the news: Nike just acquired RTFKT, a developer of digital goods, including virtual sneakers and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Meanwhile, Applebee’s is launching a new NFT every Monday this month, following White Castle’s move into crypto.

The number of premium job posts in the U.S. with “creator” in the title shot up over 450% in November from two years ago.

Why it matters: Compared to last year, the same kinds of job posts were up 220%.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will travel to Battle Creek, Michigan on Friday to rally with striking Kellogg Company workers after the company said it would replace workers who rejected a tentative settlement.

Driving the news: Last week, Kellogg announced that it planned to permanently replace the employees on strike after workers rejected a five-year tentative agreement that included 3% pay raises.

U.S. Latinos are underpaid more than a quarter of $1 trillion yearly than non-Hispanic whites, and that wage gap stifles key business growth and job creation as the number of Latinos in the U.S. skyrockets, according to a study on mobility.

Why it matters: The report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company is yet another warning about the economic inequality facing Latinos and the potential long-term effects for the nation if left unaddressed.

The Guardian now has 1 million people that pay for its digital content on a recurrent basis, Axios has learned. This time three years ago, that number was 534,000.

Why it matters: It's an impressive feat for a company that doesn't have a paywall.

Last week's BuzzFeed stock mess, in which ex-employees were unable to sell their sinking shares, put a spotlight on stock transfer agents; essential capital markets players who generally prefer to remain in the shadows.

Why it matters: The stock transfer industry is an oligopoly that hasn't endeared itself to many of the venture capital and private equity funds whose portfolio companies rely upon it. Or, more to the point, I heard all sorts of creative obscenities on Monday when speaking with firm CFOs who normally are loath to return my calls.

Footprint, a Gilbert, Arizona-based material sciences company focused on eliminating single-use plastics, agreed to go public at an implied $1.6 billion valuation via Gores Holdings VIII, a SPAC led by private equity billionaire Alec Gores.

Why it matters: Single-use plastics are an environmental calamity, with more than 130 metric tons estimated to have been thrown away in 2019. A lot of that ends up floating in the world's oceans, slowly breaking down into microplastics that can't be found or easily filtered, while most of the rest is dumped into landfills or burned (thus adding to CO2 emissions).

Air Mail, the subscription-based digital magazine company launched by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, has raised a $17 million series B funding round, Carter tells Axios.

Why it matters: The money will be used to fuel Air Mail's expansion into new editorial verticals and product lines, including podcasts and a book imprint.

Course Hero, a Silicon Valley provider of online class study materials, has raised $380 million in Series C funding at a $3.6 billion valuation led by Wellington Management.

Why it matters: The company is becoming a major education industry acquirer, having recently bought CliffsNotes, LitCharts, QuillBot and Symbolab.

Tubi, the free ad-supported streaming service that was acquired by Fox last year, is expected to hit $700 million in revenue in 2022, according to a new UBS analysis.

Why it matters: That's up from its annual revenue of $145 million at purchase. Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi told Axios that it's been able to grow quickly under Fox's leadership because the company isn't "distracted by a subscription streaming business that is a sinkhole of money."

TCG, the investment arm of The Chernin Group, is pouring roughly $80 million into Food52, a cooking and home goods brand, including $48 million to cover Food52's acquisition of the home decor company Schoolhouse.

Why it matters: The deal values Food52 three times higher than its approximate valuation of $100 million when TCG purchased an $83 million majority stake in the company in September 2019.

The Amazon Climate Pledge Fund announced investments in two new companies on Tuesday, both as Series A funding rounds made alongside other investors.

Driving the news: The larger Series A round totals just under $20 million for Brooklyn-based Amogy, a company that aims to decarbonize transportation, starting with marine shipping.

A groundbreaking report finds that businesses in the U.S. could lose more than 3.1 million days of operation next year due to increasing flood risks from human-caused global warming. This total may grow to 4 million days by 2051, the report predicts, warning of ripple effects throughout local economies.

The big picture: Previous reports had looked at residential and critical infrastructure exposure. This is the first detailed report examining commercial real estate's increasing vulnerability.

Just as department stores were aiming to get back on their feet this holiday season, shoppers walked in the other direction.

Driving the news: Net sales rose in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels, but department store chains can't yet claim full recovery: Foot traffic has fallen sharply.

The world is moving ahead with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The U.S., it increasingly appears, isn’t.

Driving the news: Since the summer, a host of countries leaped forward in their development of CBDCs. The largest economy in Africa — Nigeria — launched one that’s now in use. And new collaborations between nations took shape.

The pandemic was fantastic for Peloton — at first.

Driving the news: Over the two years since the at-home fitness company's IPO, revenues have more than quadrupled, from $1 billion to $4 billion. The company was also a poster child for pandemic-era share prices going parabolic, with the stock rising 760% between mid-March 2020 and mid-January 2021. Then, it plunged.

The newly announced merger between Vox Media and Group Nine Media will create "the fastest-growing company of scale in media," Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff told Axios.

Why it matters: The deal "officially takes us out of startup mode," said Group Nine founder and CEO Ben Lerer, who will join the new company's board.

I'm like the majority of SUV owners: My biggest excursion is to Home Depot. But the 2022 Ford Bronco I tested off-road recently had so much technology that even I was able to plow through sloppy mud trails and crawl over boulders with confidence.

The big picture: After 26 years, the iconic Bronco is back, going head-to-head with Jeep's legendary Wrangler. While it's natural to pit them in an all-out battle for market share, Ford wants to grow the segment by drawing inexperienced people like me to off-roading.

Peloton's new parody ad is getting lots of attention, helping to offset a brief crisis tied to the debut of HBO's "Sex and the City" sequel Thursday.

Why it matters: The quick turnaround of its new ad helped give Peloton's stock a small boost Monday, following a weekend of bad headlines.

Next year's restaurant industry trend predictions are in, and they include avocado coffee (an Indonesian delicacy), gourmet egg sandwiches and Burger King Whoppers made with Halloumi cheese instead of burgers.

Why it matters: As the pandemic lingers, it's shaping what ingredients are available as well as how we eat, with newfound habits that we once thought were temporary turning out to be permanent.

Former top Tesla engineer Peter Rawlinson — now CEO of rival Lucid Motors — tells "Axios on HBO" that Elon Musk is guilty of “historical revisionism” for downplaying Rawlinson's role in developing the Tesla Model S.

Why it matters: The rivalry between the two companies is intense. Tesla has dominated the global market for electric vehicles for a decade. But Lucid's debut model, with an unprecedented 520-mile driving range, represents a real threat.

Vox Media, which houses sites like Vox.com, Eater and SB Nation, has signed a deal to acquire Group Nine Media, the digital company home to brands like NowThis, The Dodo, PopSugar, Thrillist and Seeker, the company said Monday.

Why it matters: The merger will create a digital media behemoth. Both companies have acquired major digital franchises in the past year to bolster their scale ahead of the combination.