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Illuminate Ventures's Overview

Total employees19
HeadquartersOakland
Founded2010

Illuminate Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in early-stage, high-potential enterprise cloud and B2B SaaS companies. They are known for their 'high-touch' approach, working closely with founders to build market-leading businesses. The firm emphasizes diversity and inclusion, both within their team and in the companies they fund. Illuminate Ventures typically invests in Seed and Series A rounds, seeking out innovative solutions that leverage data, AI, and modern software architectures to solve significant business problems.

Where is Illuminate Ventures's Headquarters?

HQ Function

Serves as the primary center for deal sourcing, due diligence, investment decisions, portfolio company support, and firm administration. It connects the firm to the vibrant Bay Area tech ecosystem.

Notable Features:

As a lean and agile venture capital firm, Illuminate Ventures likely operates from modern, functional office spaces conducive to collaboration, rather than a large, architecturally distinct campus. Emphasis is on connectivity and efficient operations.

Work Culture:

The work culture is described as 'high-touch,' collaborative, and founder-centric. It is driven by experienced partners providing deep operational and strategic guidance. The firm values intellectual curiosity, integrity, and a commitment to fostering innovation and diversity.

HQ Significance:

The Oakland/SF Bay Area headquarters is strategically significant due to its proximity to a high concentration of tech startups, talent, co-investors, and industry events, crucial for a B2B SaaS-focused VC.

Values Reflected in HQ: The choice of location and operational style reflects values of pragmatism, accessibility to entrepreneurs, deep ecosystem engagement, and a focus on impactful support rather than opulent infrastructure.

Location:

While headquartered and primarily focused on the US market, particularly B2B SaaS companies, Illuminate Ventures' portfolio companies often have global operations and customer bases. The firm supports its companies in their international expansion strategies through its network and expertise. Their investment scope is primarily North America, but they monitor global trends in enterprise software.

Street Address:

Operations centered in Oakland; specific public office address not generally listed for VC firms.

City:

Oakland

State/Province:

CA

Country:

USA

Illuminate Ventures's Global Presence

Los Angeles, CA/USA

Address: Specific address not publicly listed; operates with a presence in the broader Los Angeles area.

To tap into and support the burgeoning Southern California tech ecosystem, identify promising B2B SaaS startups, and provide local support to portfolio companies in the region.

Buying Intent Signals for Illuminate Ventures

Highperformr Signals uncover buying intent and give you clear insights to target the right accounts at the right time — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams close more deals, faster.

Notable news
Hiring actively
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
*Example signal, not calculated in real time

Executive Team of Illuminate Ventures

As of April 2025, Illuminate Ventures' leadership includes:

Cindy Padnos - Founder and Managing Partner
Jennifer Savage - Partner
Ben Fanger - Partner
Susan Liu Bailey - Partner
Jackie Cooper - Head of Platform

Investors of Illuminate Ventures

Illuminate Ventures has been backed by several prominent investors over the years, including:

Illuminate Ventures is backed by a variety of Limited Partners (LPs) including institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. Specific names of LPs are typically kept confidential in the venture capital industry.

Executive New Hires/Exits in the Last 12 Months

Hire0
Exits0

No major publicly announced executive hires or departures at the Partner/Managing Director level within Illuminate Ventures' core team have been identified in the last 12 months. The firm maintains a stable leadership team focused on its investment activities.

Technology (Tech Stack) used by Illuminate Ventures

Discover the tools Illuminate Ventures uses. Highperformr reveals the technologies powering your target accounts — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams prioritize smarter and close faster.

Illuminate Ventures Email Formats and Examples

Illuminate Ventures likely uses common email formats for their professional communications. Based on industry standards for firms of their size and publicly available information, the most probable format is [first]@illuminate.com.

[first]@illuminate.com

Format

example: cindy@illuminate.com

Example

85%

Success rate

News and media

Illuminate Ventures BlogMarch 26, 2024

Illuminate Ventures welcomes Operative Intelligence to its portfolio

Illuminate Ventures announced its investment in Operative Intelligence, a company leveraging AI to provide actionable insights from customer service conversations. This aligns with Illuminate's focus on innovative B2B SaaS solutions....more

Illuminate Ventures BlogJanuary 9, 2024

Illuminate Ventures Portfolio Company Revcast Acquired by Celigo

Revcast, a revenue forecasting and planning platform and an Illuminate Ventures portfolio company, has been acquired by Celigo, a leader in integration and automation. This marks a successful exit for Illuminate....more

TechCrunchFebruary 7, 2023

Illuminate Ventures closes $60M third fund to back early-stage B2B SaaS startups

Illuminate Ventures announced the closing of its third fund, oversubscribed at $60 million, to continue its focus on investing in seed and early-stage B2B software-as-a-service companies. The firm emphasizes its 'high-touch' model and commitment to diversity....more

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