CoSTAR Ideate 2025: meet the Companies

Information to follow - more information available on their website.

We are on a mission to make the live event experience more engaging, more rewarding and more profitable. As part of this goal we are reimagining the liveevent journey for fans and organisers, filling the void post-ticket purchase with a fully engaging, interactive journey that builds the connection with liveconcerts, theatre, sports, and entertainment. Our core product - The Immersive Ticket will act as the ticket holder's companion and enhance the experiencebefore, during, and after the event via a series of personalised content, dynamic features, and immersive technology.

Iain Funnell (Co-Founder) | Ben Dawson (Co-Founder) | Ornagh Lynch (Co-Founder)

CineRPG CIC is a volunteer-led non-profit education initiative offering inclusive career development opportunities in the UK screen industry (Film, TV, Games). The profit generated from our offerings supports the delivery of local community actions with the ambition to reduce social isolation in Bristol and the wider region.

Matt Gras (CEO & Co-Founder) | Cara Bamford (Director & Co-Founder)

Magnetic is an Extended Reality (XR) studio creating interactive entertainment and pioneering new creative tech. Our current focus is to build a unique toolfor crafting humour in immersive media and our product in development is QuipIt. This plugin fuses humour, AI and neuroscience to create personalisedexperiences that are cost-effective, meaningful, and accessible.

Siobhan McDonnell (Creative Producer) | Jane Gauntlett (Artistic Director)

At SAIReco, our commitment to advancing video understanding AI is rooted in rigorous research and technological innovation. Our tech leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence to deliver real-time scene recognition, temporal chapterisation, and automated audio-visual descriptions.

Armin Mustafa (Co-Founder and Chief Scientist) | Asmar Nadeem (Founder and CEO) | Mahrukh Awan (Founder and COO)

Velox XR is developing innovative products and services focused on real-time video processing for the Film/VFX and Entertainment sectors. These include alive-streaming application for iOS devices, enabling direct integration of volumetric video into Unreal Engine for advanced 3D compositing. The companyleverages machine learning (ML) models to enhance actor/object tracking and mask prediction for high-quality, real-time VFX. Velox XR's tools aim to streamline VFX workflows, allowing filmmakers and creators to achieve high-quality compositing effects with greater efficiency.

Alex Grona (Founder/CEO) | Vlad Merdov (CTO)

King Bee Animation is a full-service studio at Elstree Film Studios, delivering bespoke 2D, CG, and mixed-media animation for clients like CBeebies andPepsiCo. Alongside commissioned work, it develops original IPs such as Soul Jump and the AI-powered BuzzeeBee.AI app for young creators. Theseventures drive new revenue through immersive entertainment, education, and subscription models, positioning King Bee as a scalable, brand-led creative IP studio.

Martyn Niman (CEO and Founder) | Marc de Launay (Exec Producer) | Paul Watson (Music Director) | Rian Zoll Khan (Head of Music) | Kate Patterson (Production Manager) l-r below:

Peter Fox (Co-Director) | Yasmina Fadel (Co-Director) | Corrin Wilson (Co-Director) (l-r below)

The Grey Hill empowers theatres to embrace digital transformation by providing tailored digital stores for audiobooks and ebooks. These stores generatenew revenue streams for theatres while enhancing audience accessibility in the arts. We also support live digital events, helping theatres explore innovativeproduction methods. Our data analytics MVP fuels a dynamic production pipeline, offering theatres valuable audience insights, de-risking financialinvestments, and optimising touring strategies for wider audience reach.

Barry Robertson (Founder & Director)

Volumetric Video Ltd (Volvid); elevating content storytelling to create deeper human connection using immersive spatial media. Putting experiences into thehands of consumers worldwide through social mobile app RIVAR.

Ed Jenkins (Founder)

We are Xtra Reality, creators of the world’s first outdoor mixed reality (MR) walking tour, fusing live performance with spatial computing to deliver unforgettable cultural experiences —where the streets become a stage, and audiences don’t just watch the story…they walk through it.

Shaun Ames (Co-Founder) | Rachael Hughes (Co-Founder)

Bringing Immersive To Your Neighbourhood

Sam Hunt (CCO) | David Norris (CEO)

Bonnie and Braw Cartùns is an Edinburgh-based animation studio creating bold, original IP rooted in Scottish culture for global audiences. Our work spanspreschool to adult animation, developed through international co-productions with partners including BBC, Aardman, and Screen Scotland. We specialise invisual storytelling, creative R&D, and building sustainable production models that support artists while embracing new technology to streamline development and pitch materials.

John McEwan-Whyte (Founder & Managing Director) | Rosie Jones (Production Manager & Development Coordinator)

Ellie Burroughs, Co-Founder

More information to follow.

More information to follow.

A small virtual production company based on the west of Scotland committed to providing high quality virtual production solutions to any clients. Primarily aimed at small medium enterprises, from our greenscreen studio location based in Sandyford, we take clients on the journey from conception to execution of a final product.

Rhys Murphy (Director) | Andrew Attard (Director)

HoloEdge Digital, founded in 2024 in Belfast, is the immersive technology subsidiary of Ulster Touring Opera. It creates innovative digital experiences thatblend opera, storytelling, and extended reality (XR). Using tools like volumetric capture and augmented reality, HoloEdge reimagines how audiences engagewith classical music and heritage. From augmented opera performances to interactive heritage trails, its work enhances accessibility and deepens audienceconnection, ensuring cultural content resonates in new and imaginative ways across physical and digital spaces.

Dafydd Hall Williams (CEO) | Dee Harvey

More information to follow.

SEQO provides a smart, centralised platform designed specifically for production departments - bringing clarity, consistency, and real-time collaboration to the heart of every shoot.

Brendan Lowry (Co-Founder) | Claire McCaffrey (Co-Founder)

With over 25 years of industry experience, Sync Imaging supply the highest quality photographic, videography and specialist time lapse services. 

We strive to provide the most creative, striking images, and offer a very close relation to those we work with. Great communication is key to providing the best work, 

Going beyond expectation, delivering on time and within budgets. Our work can be seen on billboards, websites and printed media internationally. 

More recently we’ve added drone and 360º video to work, along with content creation for Virtual Production. 

Using professional editors and musicians to produce eye-catching pieces of film, for viewing on TV and web. https://syncimaging.com

Nick Patterson, Owner of Sync Imaging

More information to follow.

More information to follow.