Iona Star

Iona Star

Iona Star is an operator-managed venture capital fund headquartered in Belfast, United Kingdom, dedicated to accelerating technology innovation centered on artificial intelligence and data. The firm focuses on companies addressing critical bottlenecks in AI adoption, including data privacy, synthetic data generation, real-time knowledge graphs, and scalable data-driven AI infrastructure. Iona Star tracks developments in AI privacy and invests in cutting-edge privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). The firm co-leads investment rounds alongside partners such as Friend Investment Partners, as demonstrated by its Series A co-lead in CUBIG, a Seoul-based synthetic data company powered by differential privacy. Its portfolio also includes companies like Craxel, which works on indexing algorithms for real-time knowledge graphs and AI at the edge, and OriginalVoices, focused on unlocking human insight for AI. Iona Star targets sectors where data constraints, privacy regulations, and scale challenges represent hurdles to AI adoption, with particular interest in finance, healthcare, and public sector applications. The firm supports portfolio companies in global expansion, including establishing operations in the UK, Europe, and North America. Kevin McGivern serves as Partner at Iona Star.