2013 Global Tech Exits Report. Li Ka-Shing's Horizons Ventures sees huge increase in VC deals.

Geeking out

Hi,

Do certain words and phrases in app reviews have a high correlation with ranking in the App Store?

Yes indeed.

Our new App Store Favorability Index identifies mobile apps and publishers which have a disproportionate number of reviews in which these words and phrases occur.

Also, earlier this week, our compilation of Python Tools for Machine Learning was featured in Data Science Weekly.

So yeah - this part of the newsletter was basically to brag about how smart our team is :)

Cheers,
Anand

CEO | Co-founder | Customer Service
anand.sanwal@cbinsights.com
@asanwal

P.S. On a serious note -- for customers of our data products, our team has a lot of crazy stuff in the pipeline based on your ideas. Keep them coming.

Disrupting Rosetta Stone? Duolingo leads among VC-backed language learning apps

The mobile imperative. Within Ed Tech, a number of venture-backed upstarts are competing in the mobile language learning market. And based on a mining of our App Store rankings data, Duolingo appears to be the frontrunner among language learning startups and also ahead of public market comp Rosetta Stone. See the full mobile data analysis.

Li Ka-Shing's Horizons Ventures: The eclectic and prescient investments of a billionaire

From plant-based eggs to wearables. On the back of notable exits, Li Ka-Shing's Horizons Ventures has seen a huge increase in investment deal activity and has built a diverse portfolio ranging from wearables to food innovation to artificial intelligence. See the full brief for trends on when and where Li's firm likes to invest.

CB Insider Posts

The following research is only available to paid subscribers with CB Insider access:

The 2013 Global Tech Exits Report

1.04% unicorns. Last year, 1,825 private tech companies were acquired or went public. 1.04% exited for more than $1 billion. The majority of tech exits had not raised institutional capital prior. Of those that did raise funding, SV Angel backed the most companies who exited. More of 2013's tech exit highlights are available here and subscribers can grab the full report after logging in.

How Charles River Ventures grew into a Silicon Valley powerhouse

CB Insights data gets the Buzzfeed treatment. Buzzfeed profiles Charles River Ventures, which has quietly emerged in Silicon Valley with a host of 'unicorn' exits. See the full story on CRV's impressive performance here.

The Chart of the Day

Every day, we share a chart or visualization on Twitter. Here's a few of the most popular from the last week:

Facebook M&A Trend, 2007 - 2014 YTD
The 10 Largest VC-backed Cybersecurity Exits Since 2012
VC Financing Trend to Mobile Gaming Startups - Huge Jump in Q4'13

Insights on Startups

Interesting articles by or about startups and starting up.

Understanding entrepreneurial design - @jazer on why we entering a golden era of software product design.

The 5-minute guide to advisory boards - @sbyrnes on how to pick and effectively use an advisory board.

Fundraising mistakes founders make - A helpful list of common fundraising mistakes by new YC president @sama

We don't sell saddles here - Internal memo from the team at Tiny Speck on what it means to build something users ultimately want.

A mobile-centric philosophy. - @bwert z on why startups need to prioritize mobile and carefully consider the mobile experience with a brand new set of eyes.