Early-stage venture capital fund, V3 Ventures, has officially launched in India and will invest up to €100 million across Europe, United States, and India.
Backed by the international investment company Verlinvest, V3 Ventures will focus on investing in the consumer space across new-age brands, technology, enablers, and platforms at the seed and Series A stages.
V3 Ventures is led by entrepreneurs Lopo Champalimaud and Arjun Vaidya, who have decades of experience in building transformative companies for consumers.
After a career in creating and building consumer internet businesses in the United States and Europe, Champalimaud founded the digital beauty-booking platform Treatwell. As the CEO, he led the company through European expansion, before deciding to hand over the management reins and pivot to investing in the next generation of young consumer businesses. He is now based in London and leads V3’s investments in Europe and the United States, alongside Jimmy Dietz.
Vaidya founded Dr Vaidya’s, an Ayurvedic D2C brand, in 2016. He scaled it to over 16,000 zip codes, introduced over 80 products, and gained more than two million customers in four years. In 2021, he joined the Verlinvest family and co-founded V3 Ventures, with Champalimaud. Vaidya operates from Mumbai and leads investments in Asia and India, alongside Rahul Maheshwari.
“While startup founders in India have many options for capital, what matters most is being backed by investors who understand the arduous nature of building much-loved, consumer brands,” said Vaidya, Co-founder and Investment Partner at V3 Ventures.
“At V3, we have thorough experience in creating startups ourselves. This is the unique value add we’d like to bring to the table,” he added.
In India, V3 Ventures has already invested in audio content platform Kuku FM and digital healthcare app Eka Care.
V3 Ventures aims to leverage Verlinvest’s network of partner companies, teams, and advisors.
For over 25 years, Verlinvest has invested in brands that drive consumer revolutions across the world, including Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony’s Chocolonely, BYJU’s, Sula Vineyards, and Purplle.com.
