V3 Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
V3 Ventures backs founders building "the consumer brands of tomorrow." The firm invests in fast-growing, early-stage consumer businesses defined by purpose-driven brands and innovative technologies, with a strong emphasis on brand-building and community creation. The team believes strong brands carry long-term competitive advantages and looks for businesses building communities of "fanatical customers." V3 was founded in 2021 by Lopo Champalimaud and Arjun Vaidya, both operator-investors with prior exits in the consumer space, and is backed by Verlinvest, a family-backed global investment fund with nearly 30 years of history investing in consumer brands (Coca-Cola bottlers, Alex Mill, Beats by Dre, Oatly, and others).
Stage Focus
V3 invests primarily at Pre-Seed through Series A, with occasional participation up to Series B for standout portfolio companies. Public deal data shows a concentration in Seed (16 tracked deals, ~$2.28M average round size) and Series A (8 tracked deals, ~$5.71M average round size), plus at least one Series B participation (~$7M average).
Check Size
Typical check size is reported at $1M-$5M per investment, spanning pre-seed through Series A. The firm both leads and co-leads rounds (e.g., solo-led Scrubsy's seed round; co-led Suri's £6M Series A with JamJar Investments; co-led CURAPOD's Pre-Series A with 3i Partners and Ideaspring Capital).
Lead Tendency
Mixed: V3 has both led rounds outright (Scrubsy, August 2026) and co-led alongside other institutional investors (Suri, CURAPOD, Laani). Team bios also reference syndicate participation (e.g., Indu's seed round, led by Unilever Ventures with V3 participating).
Recent Activity
V3 closed its debut institutional fund (~$100M) and has been actively deploying, with roughly 10-11 new investments per year across 2025 and 2026. Recent, sourced activity includes:
- Scrubsy (India, D2C home cleaning) — led ~$3M seed, August 2026
- Laani (India, personal care) — co-led ~$1.04M pre-seed with Saama Capital, March 2026
- CURAPOD (India, wearable pain-management healthtech) — co-led ₹20 Cr Pre-Series A with 3i Partners and Ideaspring Capital, February 2026
- Suri (UK, sustainable electric toothbrush) — co-led £6M Series A with JamJar Investments, dmg ventures, and Hambro Perks, March 2024
- Indu (UK, teen skincare) — participated in ~$5.1M seed led by Unilever Ventures, August 2024
Notably, portfolio company Wild (UK refillable deodorant/personal care brand) was acquired by Unilever in April 2025, V3's most prominent exit to date.
Portfolio Highlights
V3's public portfolio spans 35+ active companies plus one major exit. Highlights include Wild (exited to Unilever, 2025), Suri (sustainable oral care, UK), Indu (teen skincare, UK), Katkin (premium cat food, UK), Cuure (personalized supplements), KukuFM and Eka Care (India consumer/health platforms), The Hosteller (India hospitality/hostel brand), Ugaoo (India gardening/plant D2C), Baller League (sports/entertainment), and Scrubsy and CURAPOD (India, 2026 vintage). The portfolio is concentrated in India, the UK, and to a lesser extent the wider US/Europe market.
Team
- Lopo Champalimaud — Co-Founder & Investment Partner, London. Founded Treatwell (hair & beauty booking platform), scaled it to 11 countries and 31 cities before exiting; previously co-founded Cyber Dialogue and Fulcrum Analytics, and was MD at lastminute.com.
- Matt Chandler — Partner, London. Invests in early-stage consumer companies across Europe and the US; co-founded a consumer marketplace; formerly at True (working with TK Maxx, Morrisons, Levi's) and an investment committee member at Octopus Ventures (joined 2021).
- Arjun Vaidya — Co-Founder & Investment Partner, Mumbai. Founded Dr. Vaidya's, India's largest Ayurvedic D2C brand, scaling to 2M+ customers before exiting in 2020; Brown University graduate; prior experience at L Catterton; hosts the "Direct to a Billion Consumers" podcast.
- Abhiram Bhalerao — Partner, India/Asia. Early-stage investor since 2017 focused on consumer brands and technology; previously at Fireside Ventures, 360 One Asset Management, and Invest India; MBA from University of Chicago Booth.
- Shweta Tripathi — Investor, India (joined March 2024). Focused on the Indian consumer landscape; previously at Artha Venture Fund and WEH Ventures, investing pre-seed through pre-Series A.
Decision Process
Partnership model with regional leads: Champalimaud and Chandler cover Europe/US, Vaidya and Bhalerao cover India/Asia, with Tripathi supporting India-stage sourcing and diligence. No solo-GP structure; investment decisions appear to run through the partner group per region.
Founder Preferences
V3 gravitates toward operator-founders building purpose-driven, community-oriented consumer brands with defensible brand equity — often in categories the partners have direct operating experience in (beauty/personal care, D2C wellness, food & beverage, hospitality). Several portfolio founders are repeat or well-networked operators (e.g., Indu's teenage-skincare positioning, Suri's sustainability angle).
Geographic Focus
Global consumer investor with dedicated, on-the-ground teams in three hubs: London (UK/Europe), Mumbai (India), and New York (US). Offices: 21 Ganton Street, London W1F 9BW; Platina, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai; 215 Park Avenue South, New York. Portfolio skews heavily toward the UK and India, with a growing US presence.