One of the most celebrated figures in the history of the computing industry, and a founding father of the internet, has taken aim at Australia's attitude to venture capital, describing local investors as "greedy" and "nasty", accusing them of imposing excessive terms when backing domestic technology entrepreneurs.

Gordon Bell, 81, who has been described by The New Yorker as the "Frank Lloyd Wright of Computing" and is known for his eponymous theory that predicted the evolution of computing technology, has invested in more than 100 start-ups, including a handful in Australia, where he says venture and angel investors remain incredibly risk-averse. Worse, it's stunting the growth of local start-ups and forcing many offshore.