Vivek Ramaswamy staffers have begun looking for work elsewhere. He didn't qualify for tomorrow's final televised debate before the Iowa caucuses. And he won't even be on the ballot for the Illinois GOP primary.

• Why it matters: Ramaswamy jumped to political prominence with an anti-establishment, Trump-friendly message. But now his long-shot campaign shows signs of unraveling, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.

Ramaswamy — at 38, the youngest in the presidential race — has poured his energy into trying to pull off a strong showing in Iowa next Monday night.

• The wealthy biotech entrepreneur has predicted he'll finish no worse than third — above either Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis, and behind former President Trump, the front-runner.
• Polls in Iowa show Ramaswamy is running fourth. Beyond Iowa, the picture for him is unclear. His campaign says he's skipping Illinois' GOP primary on March 19 as a strategic decision.

👂 What we're hearing: GOP officials tell Axios they've received job inquiries from multiple Ramaswamy campaign staffers since early November.

• One offered to start work Feb. 1 — after the Iowa and New Hampshire contests, but before Super Tuesday on March 5, when 16 states hold Republican contests.

Ramaswamy — like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has focused on New Hampshire's Jan. 23 primary — hasn't reached the 10% mark in national polls required to qualify for CNN's Republican debate in Des Moines tomorrow (9 p.m. ET).

• Haley and DeSantis will debate. Trump qualified but, as with previous GOP debates, he'll skip it and counterprogram with a town hall on Fox News.

Over the holidays, Trump speculated about being endorsed by Ramaswamy.

• "He will, I am sure, Endorse me. But Vivek is a good man, and is not done yet!" Trump posted on TruthSocial.

🥊 Reality check: Ramaswamy has the personal cash to keep going if he wants to. Last week he sold $33 million in stock in a biotech company he founded.

Ramaswamy's campaign disputes that he faces a reckoning.

• "The energy we're seeing on the ground in Iowa is electric," communications director Tricia McLaughlin told Axios. "The mainstream media may be quick to write our obituary, but that's because they're oblivious to the facts on the ground."

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it's pouring $35 million into reaching Black, Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander voters ahead of this year's House races.

• Why it matters: Democrats, including President Biden, have slowly been bleeding support among many of these voters, Axios Latino editor Astrid Galván reports.

🖼️ The big picture: Latino voters were decisive in several tight swing state races in the midterms. As the fastest-growing demographic of voters, their power will be even greater this year.

House Dems say they'll spend money on research and polling, paid media, organizing, voter education and protection, and battling disinformation.

• The campaign will include English, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese language ads and outreach.
• A spokesman says the initial $35 million investment is more than it made in the last election cycle, which was roughly $30 million.

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The old saying went: "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going."

• But last week's near-catastrophe involving a Boeing 737 is drawing fresh scrutiny of the company and its manufacturing, quality control and safety practices, writes Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick, a pilot.

Why it matters: Boeing had been trying to revive its once-sterling reputation ever since a combined 346 people were killed in crashes involving its 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019.

United Airlines said it has "found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening" in Boeing 737 Max 9 jets.

• Boeing said: "Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers."

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AI-driven lab "copilots" are speeding up the development of new drugs, chemicals and materials.

• Why it matters: Scientific discovery itself must speed up if the world is to address its challenges — from climate change to personalized treatments for cancer — fast enough to make a difference, Axios global tech correspondent Ryan Heath writes.

💥 What's happening: A new category of lab assistant — AI lab copilots — can now make suggestions for how researchers can advance their experiments. The copilots can also spot patterns in scientific data that individual humans would be unlikely to notice.

• Ideas these copilots help shape can be tested in a new environment called cloud labs — automated labs that can be rented and controlled remotely, allowing experiments to be repeated at the push of a button.
• These experiments' results are fully traceable, helping to identify errors.

🤖 Reality check: Today's AI systems can't learn from failure, which has been the source of many human scientific discoveries.

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Samsung remained atop the list of companies obtaining U.S. patents last year, while Qualcomm's number of patents grew nearly 50%, making it the first U.S. company in three decades to surpass IBM, Axios' Ina Fried writes from market intelligence firm IFI Claims.

• Why it matters: Though not a direct proxy for innovation, the rankings do show trends in terms of which companies are investing in both research and seeking protection for intellectual property.

🧮 By the numbers: Samsung topped the list followed by Qualcomm, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., IBM and Canon. Apple came in at No. 7, Intel was No. 10, and Toyota was No. 12, followed by Google and Microsoft.

• IBM, a perennial patent powerhouse, received 3,658 patents in 2023, down from 4,398 the previous year — a result of what the company has said is "more selective" patenting, IFI noted.

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JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes will step down next month and be succeeded by the airline's president and chief operating officer, Joanna Geraghty, the company announced Monday.

• Why it matters: Geraghty will be the first woman to lead a major U.S. airline.

Geraghty, who has been with JetBlue for nearly 20 years, was previously a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight.

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With 223 days until the Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago, organizers are making one of their first big announcements:

• The Marriott Marquis Chicago and Hyatt Regency at McCormick Place, both connected to the McCormick Place convention center, will be the official headquarters hotels for the convention, Aug. 19-22.
• That makes those hotels the base of operations for staff from the Democratic National Convention Committee, DNC and Biden for President campaign, plus key leaders from coalition groups.

How it works: The convention says in a forthcoming release that it "will offer more convenience than ever before for delegates, media and guests."

• "Official convention activities on the ground are consolidated to three main areas within a five-mile radius: the United Center for official proceedings and primetime programming, McCormick Place for daytime party business, and downtown hotels for delegates."

Convention on X ... Convention website ... Host committee.

Michigan dominated the Washington Huskies, 34-13, at the College Football Playoff National Championship in Houston last night — the Wolverines' first national title since 1997.

• Michigan won the old-fashioned way — with a punishing running game and a stout defense that contained Washington's dynamic air attack, Axios Detroit's Joe Guillen writes.

Why it matters: Michigan cemented its place among college football's elite programs as the sport undergoes a radical transformation.

• "Michigan, we did this for you," said senior running back Blake Corum, the offensive MVP. "Business is finished."

🔮 What's next: With a national championship under his belt, U of M coach Jim Harbaugh's future in Ann Arbor is in doubt. He's expected to draw interest from NFL teams with coaching vacancies.

• "We've made it very clear that we want him to stay and I very much hope so," Michigan president Santa Ono told the Detroit News before the game.

Go deeper: Wolverines beat chaos ... AP's final top 25.

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