  We show that the QCD axion can drive inflation via a series of tunneling
events. For axion models with a softly broken $Z_N$ symmetry, the axion
potential has a series of $N$ local minima and may be modeled by a tilted
cosine. Chain inflation results along this tilted cosine: the field tunnels
from an initial minimum near the top of the potential through a series of ever
lower minima to the bottom. This results in sufficient inflation and reheating.
QCD axions, potentially detectable in current searches, may thus simultaneously
solve problems in particle physics and provide inflation.
