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NAB Ventures
NAB Ventures launched in 2016 as the venture investment arm of National Australia Bank, one of Australia's 'Big Four' financial institutions.
NAB Ventures
NAB Ventures launched in 2016 as the venture investment arm of National Australia Bank, one of Australia's 'Big Four' financial institutions. Managing Director Todd Forest, a former Microsoft and ninemsn executive, shaped the unit's strategy from the outset. Unlike many corporate venture capital groups, NAB Ventures was structured to operate at arm's length from the parent bank's procurement and partnership divisions, making equity returns—not service contracts—its primary performance metric. The firm targets early-stage to growth-stage companies across fintech, enterprise software, proptech, data and analytics, agritech, and digital health. Its primary geographic focus is Australia, with selective investments in New Zealand. NAB Ventures typically writes checks between A$1 million and A$10 million, leading or co-leading rounds alongside other institutional venture firms. Confirmed portfolio positions include fintech lender Valiant Finance, payments platform DataMesh, real estate data provider PropHero, and agritech start-up DIT AgTech. The unit has shown a preference for B2B infrastructure plays that sit adjacent to the bank's core operations without being captive to them. As a single-LP vehicle funded entirely from NAB's corporate treasury, NAB Ventures does not report external AUM. The team operates from NAB's headquarters in Melbourne. In January 2024, the firm co-led a A$10 million Series A round in PropHero, an AI-driven property investment platform, alongside existing investors (per the firm, January 2024). The unit has also participated in follow-on rounds for portfolio companies, demonstrating a commitment to reserve capital for insider rounds. NAB Ventures' structural differentiator is its balance-sheet independence from the internal procurement chain. Where most bank-linked VC arms face internal pressure to source technology vendors for the parent, NAB Ventures operates with a financial-return mandate enforced by a separate investment committee. This architecture allows the firm to back founders whose products may compete with—or render obsolete—parts of NAB's existing technology stack, a posture nearly unique among Australian financial institution venture groups.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2016
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Asia Pacific
Country
Australia
City
Melbourne
Corporate office
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Principals
Todd Forest
Managing Director
Melissa Widner
General Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at NAB Ventures?
Managing Director Todd Forest leads the investment team and is the primary decision-maker on new commitments. Forest was appointed at the unit's 2016 launch and brought experience from Microsoft and Australian media company ninemsn. General Partner Melissa Widner, a veteran of Silicon Valley venture capital and former CEO of Heads Over Heels, has also been part of the senior investment team since 2018.
Is NAB Ventures a single-family office or a corporate venture capital unit?
NAB Ventures is a corporate venture capital unit, not a family office. It is wholly funded by National Australia Bank's corporate balance sheet and invests for financial return. The unit does not manage third-party capital or operate as a multi-family office.
Does NAB Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm primarily makes direct equity investments in early and growth-stage companies. It does co-invest alongside other institutional venture funds and is known to lead and co-lead rounds. There is no public record of NAB Ventures acting as a limited partner in other venture funds.
What investment stages does NAB Ventures typically target?
NAB Ventures targets seed, early-stage, and growth-stage companies. The firm typically writes initial checks between A$1 million and A$10 million and reserves capital for follow-on rounds. The focus is on post-revenue companies with validated products, though the firm has made earlier-stage commitments.
How does NAB Ventures source proprietary deal flow?
The firm leverages NAB's position as Australia's largest business bank to access deal flow through commercial banking relationships, fintech ecosystem networks, and co-investor relationships with other institutional venture firms. Todd Forest has publicly emphasized that the unit maintains its own sourcing network separate from NAB's corporate development team.
Which sectors does NAB Ventures explicitly avoid?
NAB Ventures has not published a formal exclusion list. Observed investment activity concentrates on fintech, data and analytics, proptech, agritech, and digital health. There is no public record of investments in consumer social media, hardware, deep biotech, or defense technology.
How is NAB Ventures structurally separated from National Australia Bank?
The unit operates with a separate investment committee and a financial-return mandate, unlike many corporate venture arms pressured to source vendors for the parent bank. This structure was deliberate from the 2016 launch and allows NAB Ventures to back companies that may not have any commercial relationship with NAB.
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