This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Esports, which is short for electronic sports, refers to competitive video gaming watched by spectators. Esports are not as mainstream as traditional sports in the US, but the number of esports fans globally is still sizable. The worldwide esports audience reached 335 million in 2017, according to Newzoo. 

And there’s still significant room for growth beyond that — we predict that 600 million consumers globally will watch esports in 2023, up 79% from 2017. 

A growing number of brands are acting to capitalize on the growth of esports as the majority of professional gaming fans are millennials and open to brand sponsors. Sixty-two percent of US esports viewers are aged 18-34, according to Activate, while 58% have a positive attitude towards brand involvement in esports, per Nielsen.

Meanwhile, Newzoo anticipates global esports sponsorship revenue to reach $359 million in 2018, up 53% year-over-year. The growing esports audience and brand activity helps explains why high-profile public figures are jumping in to capitalize on the action: In late October, basketball legend Michael Jordan and platinum-selling artist Drake both made investments into separate esports ventures, for example. 

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence will explain the growth of the esports audience and why it presents an attractive advertising opportunity for brands. We'll begin by exploring the key drivers and barriers affecting esports audience growth. Finally, we'll detail the benefits of advertising to esports fans and outline the best practices for implementing a successful esports ad campaign.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Arby's, Audi, Bud Light, Hyundai, Intel, Mastercard, McDonald's, Red Bull, Skillz, and Turner.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• The number of esports fans globally is anticipated to climb 59% over the next five years, but there’s still significant room for growth.
• This expansion will be driven by many factors, including investment from traditional sports leagues, a higher number of broadcast deals, and the expansion of the mobile-based esports scene.
• The majority of esports fans are millennials, while data suggests that Gen Zers are more receptive to nontraditional sports, like esports, than traditional sports.
• Brands can sponsor esports leagues, competitions, and players as well as advertise on digital platforms like Twitch to reach the eyeballs of esports fans.
• Whatever shape a brand's esports ad campaign eventually takes, displaying an authentic commitment to the gaming world is paramount.

 In full, the report:

• Outlines the drivers and potential barriers to esports audience growth.
• Details the various reasons esports fans are a compelling advertising opportunity for brands.
• Discusses the different ways brands can invest spend to reach the eyeballs of esports fans.
• Explains best practices brands advertising to esports fans should adopt in order to make inroads with the gaming community. 

SEE ALSO: The eSports competitive video gaming market continues to grow revenues & attract investors

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• Crows, ravens, and pigeons are all smarter than you may previously have thought — and scientists have proof.
• Chickens and ostriches are thought to be descendants of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
• The average man would need to eat around 285 pounds of meat per day if they had the metabolism of a hummingbird.
• The Bassian thrush releases gas to scare worms out of hiding.

The bird world is a fascinating — and strange — place. From a bird with claws on its wings to another bird's ability to recognize human faces, there's a lot of interesting things to know about various bird species. 

Here are several bizarre bird facts with which to impress your friends and family at trivia nights.

Chickens and ostriches are the closest modern relatives to Tyrannosaurus rex.

Although a link between dinosaurs and modern birds had long been suspected, in 2008 research was published in the journal Science that found molecular evidence, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

It's worth noting that chickens and ostriches aren't that closely related themselves, so there's certainly more information to be discovered.

Baby hoatzins have tiny claws on their wings.

Native to the Amazon, hoatzin babies have tiny claws on their wings — as well as on their feet. Since their nests are in trees that frequently overhang water, it's a safety feature for when predators try to eat the babies. Baby hoatzins can simply hop down into the water, then climb back up the tree when it's safe, according to Audubon.

The wing claws disappear as the birds mature — once they can fly, they no longer need them.

Crows and ravens are extremely intelligent.

According to National Geographic, crows can use tools and solve logic puzzles. Further, scientists believe that ravens may even pre-plan their tasks— a trait previously thought to be exclusively human.

Read more: The smartest bird in the world can use tools like a human, and it's amazing to watch

• "Fortnite" is the world's most popular game, with 80 million players spread across the globe.
• "Fortnite" will feature a ball drop and fireworks at the top of every hour as the New Year reaches all 24 time zones.
• However, as the celebration began on New Year's Eve in some time zones, players rushed to social media to report that the New Year had arrived early in "Fortnite," prompting a response from the game's creators.

"Fortnite" has become well known for its special in-game events, many of which coincide with real world holidays. So of course the game has its own New Year's event going on, complete with a ball drop and fireworks for when the clock strikes midnight.

But "Fortnite" has a global player base with more than 200 million players worldwide; meaning that players in different time zones will see the new year at different times. "Fortnite" creator Epic Games came up with a simple solution, the New Year's ball in "Fortnite" will drop at the top of every hour to account for midnight in all 24 time zones around the world.

However, some players who spent the early hours of New Year's Eve playing "Fortnite" were shocked to see the fireworks arrive early for their own time zone. When the ball drops in "Fortnite" players are forced to dance for a few seconds, making the moment impossible to ignore. Several players rushed to social media to announce that "Fortnite's" New Year celebration had gone off early.

An honest mistake to be sure, but the "Fortnite" community has surged with responses to the "early" event, prompting a response from Epic Games. Co-founder and Vice-President Mark Rein gently chided players who believed the event had been triggered early in error.

"Is it that you don’t really understand how timezones work or you think yours is the only timezone in the world?" Rein tweeted.

Epic spokesman Nick Chester and Rein both later confirmed that the event would occur every hour to account for every time zone.

Hopefully, the event will teach how wide the "Fortnite" community stretches, and remind some that the Earth revolves around the sun, not around them.

SEE ALSO: How big is 'Fortnite'? With more than 200 million players, it's now equal to nearly two-thirds the US population

SEE ALSO: The CEO behind 'Fortnite' is now worth over $7 billion

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NOW WATCH: Why it's so difficult to land a spacecraft on Mars

• Bill Gates published a blog post in which he reflected on the last 12 months and shared his thoughts about the year to come. 
• In the post, Gates said he believes the US must spend more on nuclear energy research in order to regain its global leadership leadership in that area.
•  Burning fossil fuels causes global temperatures to rise. Renewable energy sources don't emit the same heat-trapping gases, but Gates said breakthroughs in solar and wind energy won't be enough.
• Gates and other billionaires lead a fund called Breakthrough Energy Ventures that invests in startups focusing on clean energy.

Bill Gates is urging the United States to invest in nuclear power research.

In his annual year-in-review Gates Notes blog post, Gates noted that, despite the consequences of climate change that people face around the globe, "global emissions of greenhouse gases went up in 2018."

Because burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) releases carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, Gates wrote that we need breakthroughs in clean energy in order to curb the rise of global temperatures. Generating energy from sunlight and wind does not emit CO2; the same goes for nuclear energy.

"The world needs to be working on lots of solutions to stop climate change," Gates wrote. "Advanced nuclear is one, and I hope to persuade US leaders to get into the game."

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world will face catastrophic effects of climate change if global temperatures climb to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. We are on track to hit that 1.5-degree threshold by 2040, though the IPCC said a huge shift in global energy and economic systems could still reverse the trend.

Read more:The scariest parts of the new climate change report: The goals the world set are inadequate, and the track we're on is disastrous

Solar and wind energy are becoming much cheaper— which Gates said he was "glad to see"— but he wrote that these energy sources alone are not enough. That's because solar and wind energy are not viable when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow. Nuclear power, on the other hand, is available 24 hours a day.

This is not the first time Gates has sought to improve the world's energy options. Gates, along with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and other billionaires, leads a fund called Breakthrough Energy Ventures that invests in startups that focus on renewable energy. In 2018, the group announced the first companies to get that funding.

"The companies we chose are run by brilliant people and show a lot of promise for taking innovative clean-energy ideas out of the lab and getting them to market," Gates wrote in his end-of-year note.

As far as nuclear power is concerned, Gates said he is confident that further innovation can eliminate concerns about the risk of accidents.

"The United States is uniquely suited to create these advances with its world-class scientists, entrepreneurs, and investment capital," he wrote. "Unfortunately, America is no longer the global leader on nuclear energy that it was 50 years ago. To regain this position, it will need to commit new funding, update regulations, and show investors that it’s serious."

As an example of a promising approach to nuclear energy, Gates pointed to the company TerraPower that he started 10 years ago. TerraPower is working on creating a traveling-wave reactor, which Gates said is safe, produces minimal waste, and can't be used in nuclear weapon production.

TerraPower was trying to building a pilot project in China, Gates wrote, but recent moves by the Trump administration have "made that unlikely."

Gates said there may be a chance for the project to move forward in the US. But regardless, he plans to continue drawing more attention to energy issues in 2019.

"Next year I will speak out more about how the US needs to regain its leading role in nuclear power research," Gates wrote.

• Read more about nuclear energy:
• A Bill Gates-backed energy company is developing what could be a game-changing nuclear reactor
• The demise of US nuclear power in 4 charts
• A forgotten war technology could safely power Earth for millions of years. Here's why we aren't using it.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: China made an artificial star that's 6 times as hot as the sun, and it could be the future of energy

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Outside of the US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS have dominated the domestic logistics industry — and in particular, the last-mile of the delivery — for decades. On a quarterly earnings call in 2016, FedEx estimated that itself, UPS, and USPS executed a whopping 95% of all e-commerce orders.

But rapidly rising volumes have put the pair of legacy shippers in a bind. E-commerce sales have risen over 50% and are projected to continue their ascent into the next decade. High volumes are already straining shippers' networks — UPS struggled to bring consumers their parcels on time due to higher-than-anticipated package volume, which upset some big-name retail partners, including Macy's, Walmart, and Amazon. As online sales surge further, package volumes will outstrip legacy shippers' capacities, creating space for new entrants. 

Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to dethrone UPS and FedEx's duopoly. It's built up a strong logistics infrastructure, counting hundreds of warehouses and thousands of delivery trucks.

Further, as the leading online retailer in the US, it has a wealth of data on consumers that it can use to craft a personalized delivery experience that's superior to UPS and FedEx's offerings. Amazon must act soon, however, as UPS and FedEx are hard at work fortifying their own networks to handle the expected surge in parcel volume.

The longer the Seattle-based e-tailer delays the launch of a delivery service, the more it runs the risk that these legacy players will be able to defend their territory. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explains how the age of e-commerce is opening up cracks in UPS and FedEx's duopoly. We then outline how Amazon's logistics ambitions began as an effort to more quickly get parcels out the door and fulfill its famous 2-day shipping process and how it'll be a key building block for the company if it builds out a last-mile service. Lastly, we offer concrete steps that the firm must take to maximize the dent it makes in UPS and FedEx's duopoly.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While UPS and FedEx have dominated the US last-mile delivery market for the last few decades, the surge in e-commerce is creating more volume than shipping companies can handle.
• Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to put a dent in UPS and FedEx's duopoly due to its strategic position as the leading online retailer in the US.
• Amazon can carry its trust amongst the public, a wealth of consumer data, and its ability to craft a more personalized delivery experience to the last-mile delivery space to ultimately dethrone UPS and FedEx.
• The top priority for Amazon in taking on UPS and FedEx needs to be offering substantially lower shipping rates — one-third of US retailers say they'll switch to an Amazon shipping service if it's at least 20% cheaper than UPS and FedEx. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines Amazon's current shipping and logistics footprint and strengths that it would bring to the last-mile delivery space in the US.
• Lays out concrete steps that Amazon must take if it wants to launch a standalone last-mile delivery service, including how it can offer a more memorable, higher-quality delivery experience than UPS and FedEx.
• Illustrates how Amazon can minimize operating costs for a delivery service to ultimately undercut UPS and FedEx's shipping rates in the last-mile space.

SEE ALSO: Amazon and Walmart are building out delivery capabilities

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Many companies use the term artificial intelligence, or AI, as a way to generate excitement for their products and to present themselves as on the cutting edge of tech development.

But what exactly is artificial intelligence? What does it involve? And how will it help the development of future generations?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in AI 101, a brand new FREE report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, that describes how AI works and looks at its present and potential future applications.

To get your copy of the FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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• You may have to wait a few days for your "top nine"
• According to a pop-up on the website Top Nine, is currently "being used by millions of users worldwide."
• Of course, if you're just eager to relive your most-liked Instagram posts of 2018, you can always download the Top Nine app.

If you have scrolled through Instagram recently, you have probably noticed collages of users' "top nine" posts of the past year. However, if you were trying to figure out your own top nine posts of 2018, you may not know until the new year. As of the evening of December 31, the website appears to be overloaded.

One of the websites used to make these collages, Top Nine, is currently "being used by millions of users worldwide" and processing all of those collages could take "a few days," according to a pop-up on the website.

The website, which prompts you to enter your Instagram user name and email address, was built by Beta Labs that has offices in the US and Uruguay. INSIDER contacted Top Nine for more information and will update as necessary.

Of course, if you're just eager to relive your most-liked Instagram posts of 2018, you can always download the Top Nine app.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• Business Insider's team of tech journalists was first to report some of the most important developments in tech in 2018.
• From the surprise departure of Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene to the internal turmoil at AR pioneer Magic Leap and the problems leading up to Uber's fatal autonomous-car crash, the industry has had an eventful year.
• Check out the list below for some great reads you may have missed, or to refresh your perspective and challenge your assumptions as you prepare for the new year in tech.

From massive, multibillion dollar acquisitions to boardroom shake-ups and disturbing scandals, the tech industry had an eventful 2018.

Business Insider's team of tech journalists was first to report some of the most important developments, from the surprise departure of Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene to the internal turmoil at augmented-reality (AR) pioneer Magic Leap and the problems leading up to Uber's fatal autonomous-car crash.

As the tech world moves ahead into 2019, we decided to distill the year's catalog of exclusive stories and investigations into a list of the nine most important reports. Check out the list below for some great reads you may have missed, or to refresh your perspective and challenge your assumptions as you prepare for the new year in tech.

Microsoft in talks to acquire GitHub

A Microsoft acquisition of GitHub — the popular platform for software developers — seemed like a wild notion when Business Insider's Julie Bort and Becky Peterson broke the news this summer that the two companies were in discussions for a multibillion-dollar deal.

Within days, however, Microsoft announced plans to buy GitHub for $7.5 billion, sending shockwaves throughout the tech world and spurring competitor IBM to acquire Red Hat.

Read the full story here »

The inside story of Travis Kalanick's downfall at Uber

A lot of stories have been written about the internal turmoil at Uber that led to the ousting of CEO Travis Kalanick.

Business Insider's chief tech correspondent, Julie Bort, wrote the definitive account, speaking to dozens of people over six months. She unearthed important new details, revelations, and behind-the-scenes events that set in motion a boardroom coup that's sure to be analyzed by business-school professors for years to come.

Read the full story here »

Apple's secret app-developer meeting

Kif Leswing's fascinating and detailed report about an invite-only meeting with app developers that Apple hosted in a New York City luxury loft shed new light on the iPhone-maker's strategy to focus on subscriptions.

With Apple's recent shift to focusing on its "services" business, building a reliable app-subscriptions revenue stream and keeping developers happy will become increasingly vital to the company's success.

Read the full story here »

• Life insurance is fundamentally hard to sell; it’s morbid to think about, promises no immediate rewards, and often requires a lengthy paper application with minimal guidance.
• Despite the popularity of personalized products in other areas of finance and fintech, life insurance largely remains unchanged.
• A small, but growing pocket of insurtech startups are shaking up the status quo by finding ways to digitize life insurance and increase its appeal.

Life insurance is a fundamentally difficult product to sell; it requires people to think about their deaths without promising any immediate returns.

And, despite tech innovations and the development of personalized services in other areas of finance, life insurance remains largely unchanged.

Luckily, there is a small but growing pocket of insurtech startups looking to modernize it. These companies are finding ways to digitize life insurance to  appeal to consumers — and they’re giving incumbents the opportunity to revamp traditional offerings, either by partnering with them or using their technology.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has forecasted the shifting landscape of life insurance in the The Future of Life Insurance report. Here are the key problems insurtechs are tackling:

• Lack of education: Forty percent of US consumers told the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) that they feel intimidated by the life insurance application process, often drastically overestimating its cost and facing uncertainty about how much or which type of coverage to buy.
• Inconvenient application process: It can take weeks or months for coverage to take effect because of the sheer number of meetings and parties combing through paperwork in each round of the application process. The risk for the insurer often warrants reviews from the carrier, a team of underwriters, a broker, and even a medical examiner.
• Low customer loyalty: Life insurance tends to be a “set it and forget it” type of purchase, with very few people revisiting it after buying. Insurers and consumers therefore have limited contact for most of the relationship — with the exception of an annual bill, of course.
• Inefficient data management and processing: The aggregate data life insurers rely on is typically fed into algorithms that make broad assumptions about particular populations, and often incorporate outdated medical documentation — all of which can delay applications and result in unnecessary rejections.

Want to learn more?

The need for modernization in life insurance is clear: Overall sales are slowing and policy ownership is hitting record lows. And because it’s such a tightly-regulated space, innovation from incumbents has stagnated — but they’re not helpless. Consumer-focused and insurer-focused startups have emerged to offer new technologies and process improvements.

The Future of Life Insurance report from Business Insider Intelligence looks at the two main strategies life insurtechs are adopting to drive change in this market, for the benefit of both buyers and sellers. In full, the report discusses best practices incumbents and startups should adopt to steer clear of the risks attached to applying emerging technologies to such a tightly regulated product.

Insurtech startups will soon set new industry standards and consumer expectations around this complex product. That, in turn will serve as a catalyst for innovation among legacy players.

Companies included in this report: Ladder, Haven Life, Getsurance, Tomorrow, Fabric, Atidot, AllLife, Royal London, Polly, Life.io, Legal & General, Vitality, Discovery, John Hancock, Dai-ichi Life.

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• Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and self-driving technology are helping the transportation and logistics industry finally transform by cutting costs, optimizing delivery routes, and automating mundane tasks.
• Startups will be the lynchpin of this transformation because they specifically target areas of need  with cutting-edge solutions.
• Business Insider Intelligence examined the top 5 startups within five key areas: digital freight services, warehouse robotics, AI for supply chain management, last-mile delivery robotics, and self-driving car software.

Transportation and logistics industries have operated largely the same way for decades. But the surge in e-commerce in the last several years, combined with consumers’ appetite for same-day delivery, has brought us to a tipping point.

Delivery companies are doing all they can to get orders to customers’ doors as quickly as possible, which has facilitated wholesale changes in how they operate.

Cutting-edge digital solutions (including digital freight services, warehouse robotics, AI for supply chain management, delivery robotics, and autonomous driving software) are forcing traditional delivery companies to either evolve or see their core businesses erode.

Transportation & Logistics Startups to Watch, a new report from Business Insider Intelligence, monitors the biggest change agents in the industry to offer unique insight into the development of the transportation and logistics space at large, and shows how traditional companies are adapting to their new environment.

Want to Learn More?

Business Insider Intelligence's Startups to Watch reports give a high-level overview of the funding trends for startups in a particular coverage area, as well as a list of key startups (by function, what they do, key news, and statistics). Businesses need to understand new competitive threats, technologies, and acquisition opportunities in order to thrive. These reports provide that contextual information in an easy-to-digest manner.

In full, the Transportation & Logistics Startups to Watch report dives into the top 25 companies - five startups across five key disruption areas - that are easing shipping burdens, improving order fulfillment efficiency, optimizing delivery, and automating processes.

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• We asked healthcare and biotech venture capitalists from leading firms like Venrock, Canaan Partners, and General Catalyst Partners to share their predictions for 2019.
• While some had their eye on new ways to aid mental health, others are on the lookout for biotechs with a more focused approach to drug development.
• From biotech-market corrections to an ever-growing field of direct-to-consumer healthcare companies, here's what the VCs anticipate will be in store next year.

The healthcare industry is at a crossroads.

Big tech players are encroaching on entrenched healthcare companies, forcing them — as well as startups — to think of different ways to care for patients. In biotech, a red-hot initial-public-offering window appears to be closing.

Looking ahead to 2019, Business Insider turned to six healthcare and biotech investors at top venture-capital firms to find out what they're keeping an eye on going into the new year.

SUBSCRIBE: Dispensed: a weekly dose of pharma, biotech, and healthcare news

Venrock partner Camille Samuels predicts a biotech correction and a slump for Moderna.

Venrock partner Camille Samuels is ready to get back to the basics in biotech.

"I'm enthused by the correction," Samuels told Business Insider. Over the past five years, the Nasdaq biotech index is up 25%, though recently stocks have taken a tumble, putting them into correction territory, a term that refers to a 10% or greater decline from a stock's most recent peak.

In 2019, she said, she's anticipating a return to the basic biotech-business model. That is, instead of a broad platform with six or more potential drugs in the works, a more straightforward focus on one or two lead programs that a company knows super well.

The correction in turn will drive that because there will be less available capital pouring into early-stage companies, forcing them to have a more zoomed-in approach.

"I remain an optimist on the fundamentals of biotech, but the industry has gotten so enthusiastic as to be undisciplined," Samuels said.

On the policy side, Samuels said she expects to see the biopharma industry make a concession on drug pricing to appease the Trump administration. That said, she doesn't expect it to have broad implications.

Another prediction: "Moderna will exit at a $3 billion valuation next year."

Moderna debuted on the public market on December 7 after raising more than $600 million in the biggest IPO in biotech history. While the IPO valued Moderna at $7.5 billion, it's currently trading well below its IPO price, with a market value of $5 billion.

Samuels expects that to drop even further by the end of 2019, to a market value of $3 billion.

"It's hard for me, looking at their pipeline, to figure out why they're valued five times, six times [as much as] other companies with the same pipeline," Samuels said.

Lastly, she sees exhaustion with financing cancer-drug makers sinking in, with interest picking up for other diseases that have been left at the wayside.

Two of the scientific areas she's most interested in at the moment: mitochondrial RNA-based medicines and antiaging biology, particularly a subsection she refers to as "inflamm-aging."

Wende Hutton, a general partner at Canaan Partners, anticipates a more skittish IPO market.

"We're coming out of a very ebullient year," Hutton told Business Insider. As part of the massive year biotech companies had entering the public market, Canaan Partners' portfolio had two entries.

Hutton said she expects to see a lot of new startups form and a lot of early-stage fundraising rounds, given the money that venture funds have raised over the last 18 months. But as the IPO markets start to look more skittish and uncertain, that might signal a slowdown in public debuts for 2019.

Like Samuels, Hutton said she's anticipating a shift in focus from platform-based companies with a number of drugs in the works to companies focused on one or two drugs, in large part because those are easier buys for pharmaceutical companies looking to build up their development pipelines.

"If there's any retrenchment of capital, that's a great place to put your money," Hutton said.

Hutton said she's still seeing a lot of money flowing into cancer-drug makers, particularly those developing drugs that act on the body's immune system. Hers and Canaan's interest, she said, will also be in finding new candidates for neurology and rare diseases.

Ambar Bhattacharyya at Maverick Ventures sees a 'shadow cash economy' stepping into the light.

The way Ambar Bhattacharyya sees it, the economy of consumers willing to pay cash — rather than use their insurance — for healthcare is about to emerge.

"A shadow cash economy is coming out of the shadows," Bhattacharyya told Business Insider.

Companies like GoodRx, 23andMe, and Warby Parker have already paved the way. Now with the explosion of direct-to-consumer health companies like men's health company Hims, in which Bhattacharyya is an investor, the new relationship with healthcare and a willingness to pay cash for services that might otherwise be covered by insurance will cement itself.

Bhattacharyya said he also expects to see interest in cybersecurity pick up in 2019, potentially in the form of services like LifeLock's work in identity theft showing up in medical records to protect from health-insurance fraud.

Maverick, an early investor in One Medical, anticipates seeing more brick-and-mortar doctor's offices for specialties pop up, possibly for diabetes or mental health. Already, he's seen companies like Two Chairs for mental health spring up in northern California and fertility clinic Kindbody in New York.

On the employment side, Bhattacharyya is looking forward to seeing people who are pursuing careers in technology start to consider healthcare in a more serious way, particularly as tech giants like Facebook face reputational challenges.

Two areas Bhattacharyya is less interested in seeing new companies: new approaches to pharmacy benefits management (the companies in charge of negotiating drug prices), and tech services for diabetes (an area that already has a fair amount of competition).

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Remittances, or cross-border peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers, hit a record high of $613 billion globally in 2017, following a two-year decline.  And the remittance industry will continue to grow, driven largely by digital services.

Several factors will fuel digital growth globally, such as increased smartphone penetration, greater demand for digital transactions, and an overall need for faster cross-border transfers. And with the shift to digital comes an audience of younger, digital-savvy customers using remittances — a segment that companies are looking to target.

As a result, the global remittance industry is becoming increasingly competitive for firms to navigate, with incumbents like Western Union and MoneyGram competing for the same pool of customers as digital upstarts like WorldRemit and Remitly. And in order to win, companies across the board will need to prioritize the four areas consumers value most in remittances: cost, convenience, speed, and safety.  

In The Digital Remittances Report, Business Insider Intelligence will identify what young, digitally savvy users value in remittances. We will also detail the concrete steps that legacy and digital providers can take to effectively capture this opportunity and monetize digital offerings — the primary growth driver — to emerge at or maintain their presence at the forefront of the space. 

The companies mentioned in the report are: MoneyGram, Remitly, Ria, Western Union, WorldRemit, TransferWise, and Xoom, among others.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• The global remittance industry recovered from a two-year decline in 2017 to reach a record $613 billion in transfer volume. That growth will continue and will be fueled by digital remittances, which Business Insider Intelligence expects to grow at a 23% CAGR from $225 billion in 2018 to $387 billion in 2023.
• There’s a new segment of customers that both legacy and digital firms are competing to grab share of. Young, digital-savvy consumers are the customer segment that all firms are vying to reach, which is creating a highly competitive dynamic. The needs of those consumers will precipitate transformational change in the industry.
• We’ve identified several tangible steps firms can take to improve in four key areas — cost, convenience, speed, and security — to not only attract but also maintain this customer segment to align with their preferences and ultimately win in the space.

 In full, the report:

• Outlines the global remittance landscape and sizes the opportunity that the industry presents. 
• Identifies the new audience for remittances and future drivers of the remittance space going forward. 
• Discusses four key areas that providers can focus on — cost, convenience, speed, and security — to improve offerings and ultimately capture that shifting audience. 

To get this report, subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

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SEE ALSO: These were the biggest developments in the global fintech ecosystem over the last 12 months

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• President Donald Trump responded to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Monday announcement that she was forming an exploratory committee for a potential 2020 presidential run.
• During a phone interview with Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth whether or not Warren can win.
• "Well, that I don't know," Trump responded. "You’d have to ask her psychiatrist."
• The president also mocked the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, who he has repeatedly called "Pocahontas," because of her claim that she is part-Native American.

President Donald Trump responded to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Monday announcement that she is forming an exploratory committee for a potential 2020 presidential run.

During a phone interview with Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth asked Trump whether or not Warren can win.

"Well, that I don't know," Trump responded. "You’d have to ask her psychiatrist."

Trump made this comment during an interview for Fox News' "All-American New Year" special that airs on New Year's Eve.

The president also mocked the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, who he has repeatedly called "Pocahontas," because of her claim that she is part-Native American.

"Elizabeth Warren will be the first," Trump said, referring to Warren being the first major Democrat to throw her hat into the ring. "She did very badly in proving that she was of Indian heritage. That didn't work out too well."

In an apparent attempt to get ahead of attacks related to her claim, Warren released a video discussing a DNA test that she took, the results of which she said "strongly support" her claim of Native American ancestry. The response to the October video was mixed — and even elicited a negative response from Native American leaders.

Read more:Meet the 2020 presidential contenders who are poised to start campaigning right away in 2019

In a video emailed to supporters on New Year's Eve day, Warren announced she was launching an exploratory committee for a presidential run.

Warren is the first well-known Democrat to announce a potential run in what is expected to be a crowded field for the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.

SEE ALSO: Sen. Elizabeth Warren just took a huge step toward a 2020 presidential bid

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Digital disruption is affecting every aspect of the fintech industry.

Over the past five years, fintech has established itself as a fundamental part of the global financial services ecosystem.

Fintech startups have raised, and continue to raise, billions of dollars annually, pushing incumbent financial institutions to get in on the action. Legacy players have begun using fintech to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving financial services landscape.

So what's next?

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explores recent innovations in the fintech space as well as what might be coming in the future in our brand new exclusive slide deck, The Future of Fintech: How Fintech Is Taking Over The World and What Comes Next.

To get your copy of this free slide deck, click here.

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• People are celebrating the arrival of 2019 around the world.
• See images of New Year's Eve celebrations from the Philippines to Russia.
• Fireworks lit up the skies of Paris, London, Hong Kong, and more.

People around the world are saying goodbye to 2018 and ushering in 2019 in spectacular fashion. Fireworks lit up the skies of many cities across the globe. Here are stunning images of New Year's Eve celebrations around the world.

Manila, Philippines

A New Year's Eve party in Manila in the Philippines.

Jakarta, Indonesia

In Jakarta, Indonesia, fireworks went off over the Lagoon Beach Ancol.

Vienna, Austria

People wait for fireworks at city hall in Vienna, Austria.

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

The virtual reality (VR) market is expected to rally in 2018 after seeing slow growth from 2016 to 2017. The uptick will be largely catalyzed by the emergence of the newest headset form factor, stand-alone VR headsets, which address some of the biggest pain points that have prohibited mainstream consumers from adopting VR.

This new form factor is more affordable than cost-prohibitive high-end headsets and more capable than its smartphone-powered counterparts. Additionally, it features in-unit processing that frees the VR headset from wires. The first major stand-alone headset, the Vive Focus from HTC, was launched in January of this year, and more from other major companies like Oculus and Google are expected to follow over the next six months. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence lays out where the VR market is and forecasts how it will grow over the next five years. We dissect the various hardware categories and the unique strengths and opportunities of each, and identify how they will gain traction at different points of the market’s evolution. Finally, we examine various components impacting consumer adoption.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Business Insider Intelligence forecasts shipments of all VR headsets to grow 69% year-over-year (YoY) to reach 13.5 million in 2018. Powering that growth is the stand-alone VR headset category, which is expected to account for 30% of total headsets shipped in the year ahead. 
• The VR hardware market is volatile because getting a device right is a balancing act. On one hand, the price point needs to be affordable for most consumers, and on the other, the experience has to be distinctive and immersive enough to convince a consumer to strap a visor to their face on a regular basis. 
• While only a handful of stand-alone VR headsets will hit the market in 2018, they mark the biggest step toward mainstream adoption of consumer-oriented VR headsets by making the technology more accessible for the average consumer. 
• Declining price points, coupled with high-quality headsets and the introduction of a game-changing app, are crucial for the VR industry to achieve before VR can really gain traction on a global scale.

In full, the report:

• Forecasts the growth projections and shipment expectations of the global VR headset market, and breaks it up by the major headset categories.
• Explores the four major segments in the current VR hardware market, defined by the hardware needed to power the experience — stand-alone, smartphone-powered, PC-powered, and game console-powered VR.
• Identifies the key players shaping the burgeoning stand-alone VR headset segment.
• Discusses the biggest challenges to VR development and adoption.

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

As streaming becomes an increasingly mainstream behavior among consumers, the video industry has produced new combinations of streaming video programming services to prepare for the progressive overhaul in how media is distributed.

These streaming bundles have emerged in response to the problems of media fragmentation, cord-cutting, and high consumer costs. Declining usage of traditional TV across every demographic, particularly among young viewers, has also demanded new solutions to the traditional distribution model that is pay-TV.

Although streaming media bundles are still evolving, four distinct models have emerged:

• Skinny bundles — Cheaper, streaming versions of the traditional pay-TV bundle, but with fewer channels.
• SVOD aggregators — Facilitate a la carte sign-ups to third-party streaming services through a central user portal. The primary example so far is Amazon Channels, Amazon's SVOD partner program. 
• SVOD integrations — SVOD services like Netflix that bring their offerings to a traditional operator's service.
• Streaming service partnerships — Combine one or more streaming services under a single offering, at a lower cost than the total price separately.

In the SVOD Bundling Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the state of the US video ecosystem and how media companies are refining their distribution strategies to meet the changing needs of consumers. The report situates each of the four bundle model types within the overall SVOD market, and investigates the overarching advantages and challenges each faces. Finally, we predict how player dynamics might transform and adapt, outlining best practices for providers to succeed within the new TV landscape.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• SVOD bundles partake in a growing SVOD market in the US. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that the SVOD market totals $13.6 billion in 2018, primarily driven by uptake on services from SVOD giants Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. 
• Streaming video accessed on over-the-top (OTT) platforms is going mainstream, while consumers — particularly younger viewers — are reducing usage on live, linear TV. Traditional TV usage among viewers ages 18-24 has dropped 48% since 2011, 35% among 25-34 year olds, and 18% in the 35-49 demographic. 
• Skinny bundle services are growing in popularity, with 7.2 million subscribers in the US, but they suffer fundamental financial sustainability problems. 
• Distributors with at-scale platforms and powerful back-end tech can capitalize on the growing consumer demand for content consolidation among consumers. Faced with a fragmented and expanding universe of content options, more than two-thirds of consumers say they would prefer to get all their services from a single source, per Hub Entertainment Research. 
• Winners in the bundling shakeout will have prioritized internet-connected tech, an effective user experience, reasonable pricing, and content diversity. 

In full, the report:

• Identifies the four SVOD model types that have emerged as alternatives or supplements to traditional distribution.
• Investigates the top advantages and challenges of each model type.
• Outlines strategies that players across media and distribution companies can use to address business or market challenges.
• Explores how the dynamics of each model type will evolve as services converge under new bundled offerings.

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• A car plowed through a crowd of pedestrians celebrating New Year's Eve in Tokyo, Japan.
• At least nine people were injured, one critically, CNN reported.
• Police said the car barreled down a crowded street roughly 10 minutes after midnight.

A car plowed through a crowd of pedestrians celebrating New Year's Eve in Tokyo, Japan, in the early morning of January 1. At least nine people were injured, one critically, CNN reported.

The incident happened in the tourist and shopping destination of Harajuku on Takeshita Street, which is close to the Meiji Shrine. The shrine is a popular New Year's Eve destination.

Police said the car barreled down a crowded street roughly 10 minutes after midnight.

According to CNN, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police have detained a suspect, 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe. Initially, a police spokesperson characterized the crash as an "act of terror," Reuters reported. However, according to CNN the suspect later said he was allegedly protesting the death penalty.

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• The former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn is expected to spend New Year's Day in a Tokyo jail, after a court chose to extend his stay until January 11, in the wake of new allegations of financial misconduct, The Asian Nikkei Review reports.
• Ghosn has been behind bars since November and was served a fresh arrest warrant on Dec. 21 for allegedly transferring personal investment losses to Nissan ten years ago in 2008, the publication said.
• Ghosn has denied the allegations.

A Tokyo court on Monday backed Japanese prosecutors' request to keep the disgraced former Nissan Motor Company chairman Carlos Ghosn behind bars until January 11, due to the latest allegation of financial misconduct.

His previous release date had been set for January 1.

Ghosn, initially charged over underreporting his income, has been under lock and key since November.

His stay in detention has been extended once again, after another arrest warrant served last week, alleged that Ghosn transferred massive personal investment losses of up to 1.85 billion yen ($17 million) to the Japanese automaker in 2008, The Asian Nikkei Review reported, on Monday.

Ghosn has denied all the allegations.

Ghosn, a legend in his field, was arrested in Japan last month on allegations of massive financial misconduct when his private jet landed at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The former chairman of Nissan was detained alongside a Nissan director, American Greg Kelly, who is accused of having enabled Ghosn.

Ghosn was long credited for helping to save Nissan from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s, and as the architect of an alliance between Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi. The alliance became the world's largest automotive conglomerate by sales volume last year.

Now he has been rearrested three times as Japanese prosecutors search for what they allege might be hidden millions in compensation and perhaps even financial engineering to conceal more personal losses.

Kelly was released on bail on Tuesday, but Ghosn's fall from grace to a cell in Tokyo has been extended again after further suspicion of aggravated breach of trust against Nissan was cast on December 21.

SEE ALSO: 'We hope the board will listen to our explanation': Nissan's CEO calls on Renault to heed the allegations against Carlos Ghosn

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The transportation and logistics industry is undergoing a massive shift as a result of surging deliveries. Daily parcel volumes are higher than ever before — but so are customers’ expectations for cheap and fast fulfillment. 

To keep up with mounting demand, retailers and their logistics partners have been racing to develop more efficient processes with experimental supply chain models like crowdsourced delivery — the Uber model in which customers use mobile apps to connect directly with local couriers for on-demand or same-day fulfillment.

And it’s not just startups like Deliv and Postmates getting in on the action. This year Amazon not only launched its own shipping service to deliver packages for other businesses (“Shipping with Amazon”) but also announced its “Delivery Service Partner” program, which provides capital incentives for people to launch their own delivery companies fulfilling orders on behalf of Amazon itself.

With emerging delivery models like these aggressively stealing away customers, the pressure is on for legacy players like FedEx, UPS, the USPS, and the thousands of businesses who depend on them every day, to respond. But it will take more than just material resources or a large fleet of vehicles to truly compete. These companies need to earn the trust of consumers.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has obtained exclusive survey data to paint the 2018 delivery landscape and the trends of its major players. The findings comprise the team’s latest Enterprise Edge Report, The 2018 Delivery Trust Report, and give transportation, supply chain, and logistics companies the tools they’ll need to win back customers.

Enterprise Edge Reports are the very best research Business Insider Intelligence has to offer in terms of actionable recommendations and proprietary data, and they are only available to Enterprise clients.

In full, the study:

• Uses proprietary consumer survey data to evaluate how the largest delivery companies in the US stack up on customer service, package tracking, package protection, and timeliness of delivery.
• Assesses how at risk these providers are to new challengers entering the space.
• Shares strategies on how delivery companies can achieve feature parity and, ideally, differentiation, in customer experience.

So, which delivery features do consumers care about?

First and foremost, speed. It makes sense that consumers value fast delivery, but did you know just how many of them prioritize this feature? According to a recent survey from Dropoff, it’s 99%. And with millions of packages delivered nationwide every single day, that’s a lot customers with high expectations.

But customers don’t just want their packages delivered quickly; they want to follow the journey from store to doorstep. Another one of the most important offerings delivery companies boast is real-time tracking, with nearly 90% of consumers noting it in the Dropoff survey.

If they can get it right, tracking is a twofold advantage for delivery companies; it entices consumers who want to know when their packages are coming, and it appeals to merchant partners who might be willing to switch delivery service providers for the added visibility and customer benefit.

And the field is still wide open for companies to differentiate on this feature. Among those who had a package delivered from UPS, FedEx, USPS, or DHL in the last year, nearly 30% of Business Insider Intelligence survey respondents couldn't actually say which company offered the best tracking features. Whether it means using mobile apps, SMS texting, or chatbots to communicate with customers, there’s plenty of opportunity for logistics companies to hone and become known for this feature.

Want to learn more?

This is just a snapshot of the Business Insider Intelligence 2018 Delivery Trust Report, which compiles the complete survey findings to dive deeper into the opportunities delivery companies have to engage and delight customers.

The multi-part report also presents actionable insights that transportation and logistics companies can use to fight back against Amazon’s continuous push into deliveries.

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