Australia-based financial services firm National Australia Bank (NAB) is doubling the amount of capital available to its NAB Ventures unit to A$100m ($71.9m), Australian Financial Review reported today.
NAB Ventures was launched in 2015 with A$50m of capital to fund developers of technology supporting NAB initiatives such as connecting businesses and strengthening cashless payment options.
The latest capital will be allocated to a A$50m second fund that will focus most thoroughly on artificial intelligence and data technology. Other areas of interest include cybersecurity, agriculture technology and products that could help NAB improve its customer service.
Todd Forest, managing director of NAB Ventures, said: “Data will become more important for banks, and third-party data sets will become really critical to personalise the banking experience and allow us to continue offering innovative products and thinking about adjacent services we can provide.”
The unit has so far invested in 12 companies, only seven of which have been publicly disclosed. Its portfolio includes cross-border payment platform Veem, data exchange service Data Republic and property investment platform BrickX.