This. Is. March. (At Business Insider.)
The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments kick off this week. March Madness is considered one of the best sporting events of the year, but why let them have all the fun?
Here at BI Today, we’re doing a bracket of our own, and we need your help. Below you’ll find an eight-team bracket made up of some of the biggest trends in business, seeded from one (highest) to eight.
(My colleague Joe Ciolli is doing a bracket for First Trade focused on specific companies. You can check out his over here.)
Voting will stay open until Thursday night. Next Monday I’ll share the results, and we’ll have another round of voting. We’ll repeat the process until we have a winner!
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Stay connected to Dan and get more of their work as it publishes.
The last time we did this in 2024 — I skipped last year; having a kid really threw a wrench in my plans — it came down to the US presidential election vs artificial intelligence, with the election barely beating out AI.
A quick note before we dive in: The war in Iran obviously has massive ramifications across the business world. But the conflict is fluid, so I didn’t include it. After all, it wouldn’t be March Madness without a team feeling it got unfairly left out of the tournament.
SaaSpocalypse (1) vs Autonomous vehicles (8): It’s been a bloodbath for software companies, an example of the power of AI. Meanwhile, self-driving cars have become a big bet for everyone from Tesla to Uber.
Prediction markets (4) vs Tariffs (5): No word on if prediction markets will set a market on this bracket, but I promise not to insider trade. In the meantime, the will-they-won’t-they tariff drama continues, with a new legal twist.
Vibe coding (3) vs Longevity (6): It’s not just a vibe. It’s big business these days. And it’s not just Bryan Johnson and Alphaville who want to live forever anymore.
Private credit (2) vs Robotics (7): Every private-credit executive will tell you they’re not the problem, but there’s plenty of concern about the wider industry. However, perhaps the most underrated evolution taking place in the business world is on manufacturing floors.