Illuminate Ventures raised USD20 million in a seed funding round today. The firm plans to invest the new fund in early-stage business software startups. This was according to a report published by VentureBeat.

Illuminate is a venture capital firm led by women. The company was founded in 2009 by Cindy Padnos. The firm's team is committed to supporting female entrepreneurs, the report said.

Together with her women-led investment team, Padnos plans to fund startups in North America. The firm will focus on cloud, big data, enterprise mobility, software-as-a-service, and analytics companies, the report stated.

Illuminate will usually invest a maximum of USD3 million in a Series A or B financing round. The company also reserves capital for follow-on investments, said the report.

Unlike traditional venture firms, Illuminate will not just invest and wait for the return. The company will actually take an advisory role to startups and help them succeed, VentureBeat reported.