V3 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund backed by Verlinvest, is looking to invest about €30 million over the next two years in start-ups in seed and Series-A stages. With its official launch, the fund has announced overall investments of up to €100 million across Europe, the US and India.

Arjun Vaidya, Co-founder and Investment Partner at V3 Ventures, told businessline, ”In India, the focus will be on investing across the consumer landscape with a clear focus on consumer brands, consumer technology and platforms, and enablers to commerce. Roughly, about 30 per cent of the allocation will be invested in India over the next two years. So, we could look at deal sizes in the range of $1-3 million in the first cheque.”

The fund is betting big on India’s consumption story backed by the burgeoning middle India and growing disposable income. “We will focus on three key areas while investing in the early stage. We will look at a founders’ purpose and do they have the right to win. We will also look at market size and the potential of the business to scale besides other key metrics such as revenue growth, gross margin, customer acquisition cost among others,” Vaidya explained.

Led by Lopo Champalimaud and Vaidya, V3 Ventures has already invested in audio content platform, Kuku FM and digital healthcare app Eka Care in India.

Funding winter

Asked about the funding winter, he said, ”As long-term investors, we invest regardless of cycles. While there are conversations going on about funding winter, sound businesses are still getting funded. So, I remain bullish about deal activity for fundamentally-sound businesses.”

He added that e-commerce’s share in the overall retail sector in India remains small compared to other developed markets. “The number of people using e-commerce has surged exponentially. With consumers using multiple channels to shop, brands will need to strengthen their omni-channel play. At the same time, e-commerce will continue to offer a large opportunity for growth as its penetration grows beyond the large cities,” Vaidya said.

As part of Verlinvest’s community, V3 Ventures will be able to leverage the global investment company’s network of partner companies, teams and advisors, it said in a statement. Over 25-plus years, Verlinvest has invested in brands, including Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony’s Chocolonely, BYJU’s, Sula Vineyards and Purplle.com.

Related Topics