Illuminate Ventures

General contacts

Investor type

PE / VC

Founded

2009

AUM

$150 M

Location

Oakland, California, United States

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Seed Series A

Region of investment

North America Asia

Investor profile last updated: 16 August, 2026

Profile

Illuminate Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Oakland, California, founded in 2009 by Cindy Padnos. The firm specializes in B2B and enterprise software investments, focusing on platforms and applications that leverage data and AI. Illuminate Ventures is known for its hands-on approach, often being the first institutional investor in startups and supporting them through Series Seed rounds. The team is composed of experienced professionals with a background in enterprise software, providing valuable mentorship and connections to their portfolio companies.

Illuminate Ventures primarily invests in the SaaS, AI, and data sectors, with a focus on early-stage companies. They typically lead Series Seed investments, filling the gap between angel capital and larger funding rounds. The firm has three funds under management, including Illuminate Ventures I and Illuminate Ventures SPV I, with a total AUM of approximately $30 million. Their investment strategy is thesis-based, leveraging their extensive research and industry experience.

Notable investments by Illuminate Ventures include BrightEdge Technologies - SEO market leader, Xactly Corporation - SaaS applications, Contentstack - headless CMS platform, Coupang - Korean e-commerce market leader, and Arkestro - SaaS industry innovator. These investments highlight the firm's focus on transformative enterprise software solutions.

Industry

Business Services (B2B) Marketing and Advertising SaaS Software AI Data infra Machine Learning (ML) Financial Services Fintech Security Cybersecurity

Illuminate Ventures Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
Illuminate Ventures III, L.P.	Venture Capital (VC)	Business Services (B2B) SaaS Software Machine Learning (ML)	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	—	June 2024
Illuminate Ventures I	Venture Capital (VC)	Business Services (B2B) Financial Services Fintech SaaS Security Software Cybersecurity	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$20 M	November 2013
Illuminate Ventures SPV I	Venture Capital (VC)	Business Services (B2B) Financial Services Fintech SaaS Software Cybersecurity	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$10 M	November 2020

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Cindy Padnos Founder and Managing Partner

Founder and Managing Partner

c•••@•••

Jennifer Savage Partner

Partner

j•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Illuminate Ventures — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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FAQs about Illuminate Ventures

Is Illuminate Ventures a venture capital or private equity firm?

Illuminate Ventures is a venture capital and private equity firm. It backs companies at Seed and Series A, writing tickets of $10-50 m.

Where is Illuminate Ventures located?

Illuminate Ventures is located in Oakland, California, United States.

When was Illuminate Ventures founded?

Illuminate Ventures was founded in 2009.

What sectors and industries does Illuminate Ventures invest in?

Illuminate Ventures invests in companies and startups in Business Services (B2B), Marketing and Advertising, SaaS, Software, AI, Data infra, Machine Learning (ML), Financial Services, Fintech, Security, Cybersecurity.

What is Illuminate Ventures geographical focus of investments?

Illuminate Ventures invests in companies and startups in North America, Asia.

At what stages of companies and startups does Illuminate Ventures typically invest in?

Illuminate Ventures invests in companies and startups at Seed, Series A.

What is the usual amount of Illuminate Ventures investment?

Illuminate Ventures usually invests $10-50 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Illuminate Ventures?

Illuminate Ventures has around $150m assets under management.

When was Illuminate Ventures last fund created?

Illuminate Ventures last fund was created/launched in 2024-06-21

What are the contacts of Illuminate Ventures?

Illuminate Ventures can be reached through its website illuminate.com, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Its general enquiries address is [email protected]. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Illuminate Ventures — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

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Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Illuminate Ventures directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Illuminate Ventures profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 16 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.