Top tech startup news for today, Thursday, November 14, 2019 – Google, Norwest Venture, 1Password, Apple, Toast, Track160

Hello! Below are some of the top tech startup news for today, Thursday, November 14, 2019.

Apple reportedly planning mega bundle of Music, News, TV subscription as early as 2020. Yesterday, we reported about Disney success with its recently launched Disney+ streaming service. Now, Apple is trying to use its popularity to get a share of the streaming market. Tech giant could launch a bundled subscription service as early as 2020, according to a report from Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the bundle would combine Apple News+, Apple TV+ and Apple Music into one paid subscription service. The bundled plan is part of Apple’s strategy to gain more subscribers.

Toronto’s 1Password raises $200 million after 14 years of bootstrapping. After 14 years of bootstrapping success, Toronto-based 1Password has raised $200M Series A led by Accel. The fresh capital infusion will be used to bring its enterprise password managers to every business. Founded in 2005 by Dave Teare and Roustem Karimov, the Toronto, Canada-based 1Password is a secure, convenient password manager, providing businesses and families a safe way to share passwords, credit cards, and documents. It keeps important information secure with AES 256-bit encryption. Used by millions of users and over 50,000 companies, its password manager is used to secure identities and sensitive data and provides businesses a safe way to share passwords, credit cards, and documents.

Google wants to be your bank. Why do tech companies want to be bank? Yesterday, Google announced plans to offer customers checking accounts in 2020. Google is not alone.  First Apple Pay, then about two months ago the headlines were filled with Facebook Libra. Now, we have Google Checking Accounts. Google is currently dominating the search engine market but the search giant wants more. As part of its ambition to get into the financial lives of its users, Google announced today its partnering with Citigroup Inc. and a California credit union to offer customers checking accounts, according to a report from CNET.

Norwest Venture Partners secures $2 billion for Fund XV. Norwest Venture Partners, a venture and growth equity investment firm, has closed  $2 billion combined venture capital and growth equity fund. The latest funding, which its largest fund to date, will be used to invest in companies across all stages and industries. The Palo Alto and San Francisco-based Norwest is a leading venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $9.5 billion in capital. Since our inception, it has invested in more than 600 companies and partner with over 150 active companies currently in our venture and growth equity portfolio.

Snappy Shopper raises 7-figure seed funding. Snappy Shopper, a UK-based startup that enables convenience stores and corner shops to sell online, has raised a 7-figure seed funding round to accelerate expansion throughout the UK and build its team with the creation of 21 jobs over the next year. The total amount of the deal was not disclosed. The round was backed by Kelvin Capital, Mercia, the Scottish Investment Bank and the management team. Founded in 2017 and ledby Mike Callachan, Alan Reid, and Mark Steven, Snappy Shopper provides a platform that allows independent stores and smaller chains to sell online and deliver their products to consumers by offering promotions directly to their mobile phone while providing insights into their buying behavior.

Alpine Investors closes $1 billion for its Fund VII to expand software and services buyouts. Alpine Investors, a San Francisco, California-based private equity firm that invests in software and services, has closed $1 billion for its Alpine Investors VII (“Fund VII”) fund. The Fund VII was oversubscribed, well exceeding its $750 million target and hitting its hard cap, bringing the firm’s total AUM to $2.7 billion. Founded by Graham weaver, Alpine specializes in middle-market companies in the software and services industries. Since Alpine’s inception in 2001, the firm has made over 130 investments and installed more than 40 CEOs in its portfolio companies. Alpine was also named one of the 70 best companies to work for in the Bay Area by Forbes.

Toast launches Toast Capital to provide fast and flexible funding for restaurants. Today, Toast unveiled Toast Capital, a solution designed from the ground up to provide restaurants of all sizes with access to fast, simple, flexible funding to cover working capital needs and invest in their growth. Toast has been helping businesses in the food service and hospitality space since 2011. Based on its deep experience in serving the restaurant community, Toast Capital simplifies life for restaurateurs and provides them with quick and reliable access to funding to help grow their business.  Toast Capital Loans will be available to eligible Toast restaurants across the U.S. by December 2019.