Richard Riggs, investment director at Aramco Ventures, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2025.
Richard Riggs is an investment director at Aramco Ventures, the CVC unit of the Saudi state oil and gas company Saudi Aramco.
After completing a master’s and PhD in chemistry, he started his career as the German multinational chemicals company BASF in R&D. He was attracted to move into corporate investing to build on his 10 years of technology positions.
“I wanted to do something a bit more commercial, using the experience I’d had previously” he says. “I have always been fascinated by startups and the idea of bringing something from the lab to commercialisation.”
“The VC and CVC scene in our space is quite collaborative, with each bringing their unique insights and perspectives. It is a strong and close-knit community”
Riggs moved to BASF’s CVC arm, where he spent three years, before making the jump to Aramco Ventures in 2014. Today, he works on the CVC’s Sustainability Fund, investing in clean tech startups. For Riggs, the most exciting opportunities are those that chime with his original passion for science, and through which he can make a commercial and societal impact. Technology areas he is particularly excited about include carbon capture, hydrogen, synthetic fuels and energy efficiency.
He enjoys working with founders, some of whom are “exceptionally engaging and passionate people.” His network among the wider venturing ecosystem is one of his favourite aspects of the work.
“The VC and CVC scene in our space is quite collaborative, with each bringing their unique insights and perspectives,” he says. “It’s really quite a strong and close-knit community.”
To him, being an effective CVC relies on building those strong relationships with the corporate, which will always be more risk averse than the startups. Without that cooperation, meaningful investments are impossible.
“In order for a CVC to have a strategic impact, it is essential to have a strong cooperation between the CVC and the corporate parent, otherwise you are a purely financial investor” he says.
“Likewise, the best startups are looking for investors that can add value above and beyond that of the investment money, they are attracted to the corporate brand and the strategic benefit we can bring to them, through sales, commercial or technical partnerships and the rest.”
See the full list of Emerging Leaders 2025 here.
