Founded in 2013, Kleinmuntz Associates is a closely-held venture capital firm based in Chicago.
We focus on start-up investments at the intersection of analytics, biotechnology, and healthcare, using an approach that combines early stage capital investment with business advisory services.
WHO WE ARE
CATHERINE KLEINMUNTZ, PHD
Principal
Dr. Catherine Kleinmuntz is Principal at Kleinmuntz Associates and co-Executive Director of the Kleinmuntz Family Foundation. Dr. Kleinmuntz provides strategic consulting services to start-up companies and non-profit groups. Dr. Kleinmuntz spent more than three decades working in healthcare. After earning a B.A. in Biological Sciences at the University of Chicago, she earned an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration prior to becoming a practicing psychotherapist. Catherine quickly transitioned into healthcare administration before becoming a consultant at Kaufman Hall and Associates. While working at Kaufman Hall, she earned an MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business with dual concentrations in finance and hospital administration. She consulted with numerous hospitals and large healthcare systems in financial advisory engagements and assumed sole responsibility for Kaufman Hall's software operations, rising to the rank of Vice President. In 1996, Drs. Catherine and Don Kleinmuntz founded Strata Decision Technology. Starting in the basement of their home in Champaign, they grew the company into a leading provider of financial analytics software solutions for the healthcare industry. Catherine was President and CEO until the company was sold to a private equity firm in 2011, continuing as an Executive Advisor for the next several years. As CEO, she set strategic direction for the company and the products, built the management team, and was heavily involved in sales and business development. Catherine maintained collaborative relationships with the senior executives at many of the largest and most sophisticated healthcare organizations in the US. Under Catherine's leadership, Strata grew to become an industry-leading source of financial analytics solutions for healthcare provider organizations, with software implemented at nearly one third of major US hospitals. Strata is currently a subsidiary of Roper Technologies, a publicly held corporation, with products consistently rated as category leaders in financial decision support software by independent rating services.
DON KLEINMUNTZ, PHD
Principal
Dr. Don Kleinmuntz is Principal at Kleinmuntz Associates and co-Executive Director of the Kleinmuntz Family Foundation. An expert on decision analysis, data science, and business analytics, he has made significant contributions in both academia and industry. Dr. Kleinmuntz earned a BA in statistics from the University of Chicago and an MBA and Ph.D. at Chicago's Booth School of Business. He held faculty positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Texas at Austin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, and the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching focused on improving decision making, with applications in accounting, finance, healthcare, resource allocation, and homeland security. From 2014 to 2017, Dr. Kleinmuntz was founding Academic Director of Notre Dame's Chicago-based MS in Business Analytics. He continued to teach several courses in that program as an Adjunct Professor until 2022.
In 1996, Drs. Catherine and Don Kleinmuntz founded Strata Decision Technology. Starting in the basement of their home in Champaign, they grew the company into a leading provider of financial analytics software solutions for the healthcare industry. Don held a variety of executive positions including CFO, CIO, and interim CEO. By the time he left in 2014, the company had grown to over 100 employees and implemented solutions at nearly one third of major US hospitals. Strata is currently a subsidiary of Roper Technologies, a publicly-held corporation. Dr. Kleinmuntz has consulted with hospitals and healthcare systems on financial decision support, strategic planning and resource allocation. He has consulted in other industries, and with several government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Kleinmuntz is an active and committed member of The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS}, the leading professional organization for academics and practitioners in operations research and analytics. He served as INFORMS President in 2009, and has also been INFORMS Treasurer, President of the INFORMS Analytics Society, founding Editor-in-Chief of the INFORMS journal Decision Analysis, and served on more than 50 INFORMS committees involved with awards, finance, governance, and publications. Dr. Kleinmuntz' professional recognitions include Association for Psychological Science Fellow (1997), INFORMS Fellow (2007), the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society Frank P. Ramsey Medal for distinguished contributions to decision analysis (2011), and the INFORMS George E. Kimball Medal for distinguished service to the field of operations research and management science (2012).
CURRENT INVESTMENTS
VEDABIO
Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word for the creation of knowledge. With a team of industry leading experts, VedaBio operates at the forefront of scientific innovation to push the limits of what’s possible in the field of molecular detection. VedaBio is unlocking a universe of possibilities in molecular biology with a breakthrough platform for near-instant molecular detection of highly multiplexed analytes, delivering best-in-class accuracy without the need for target amplification.
STATUSNOW
StatusNOW was created with the goal of helping people stay connected to those most important to them, while also giving them the peace of mind to completely disconnect from their phones whenever they want to. Being tied to our technology 24/7 makes people feel stressed and anxious. StatusNOW is the solution that allows you to disconnect without worry.
CAMPFIRESOCIAL
CampfireSocial is the first-of-its-kind social network and e-commerce SaaS platform designed for industry verticals and organizations to cultivate communities and drive revenue growth. CampfireSocial provides advanced data & analytics to an organization via a combined social media and e-commerce interface that generates continual stakeholder engagement.
ETERNATEAR
EternaTear is developing a novel artificial tear formulation designed to supplement all layers of the eye’s tear film, thereby providing relief from dry eye more effectively than currently marketed products. The recently closed Series A funding will be used to take its product to be ready for market launch, including completion of a multi-site clinical marketing study and U.S. Food and Drug Administration OTC registration.
OMX VENTURES
In this new Century of Biology, scientists and engineers will radically remake the future of medicine through the use of better tools, big data and computing, and the forward application of biologic insights for the creation of new tools and technologies. OMX Ventures seeks to invest early in daring entrepreneurs working on foundational research tools and instruments, synthetic biology applications, and novel drug development platforms.
SIMBIOSYS
Simbiosys is a technology company on a mission to deploy Computational Oncology to transform decision making and patient experience in Cancer Care. By virtualizing cancer, clinicians and patients are empowered with a better understanding of the disease and can assess all available options to truly individualize treatment. The company was founded in 2018 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
ORIGIN VENTURES
Millennials and Gen-Z are the only generations to grow up with the Internet, a smartphone, and social media. These “Digital Natives” generations have a unique relationship with technology, which influences how they live, work, and play. Origin Ventures invests in startups creating products and services borne by these generational differences and those fueled by the inevitability of generational transition. With offices in Chicago and Salt Lake City, Origin Ventures invests across the United States and Canada.
CAMEO
Connect, collaborate, and produce videos with a celebrity to share with your friends. Cameo featurea thousands of celebrities: athletes, actors, musicians, comedians, reality tv stars, influencers, creators, and many more. Choose your favorite celebrity to wish your mom a happy birthday, announce special news to your family, give you a personal pep talk, make a perfect sales pitch or roast a friend after a close fantasy football matchup.
PAST INVESTMENTS
FINCH THERAPEUTICS
Finch Therapeutics is a clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company leveraging its Human-First Discovery platform to develop a novel class of orally administered biological drugs. With the capabilities to develop both complete and targeted microbiome therapeutics, Finch is advancing a rich pipeline of candidates designed to address a wide range of unmet medical needs.