Mahdi Aladel, CEO at Aramco Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Mahdi Aladel has led the evolution of Aramco Ventures into one of the world’s largest and most globally active corporate VC platforms, overseeing a multi-fund operation spanning AI, industrial technologies, sustainability, life sciences, fintech and beyond.
Under his leadership, Aramco Ventures has expanded from a focused single energy ventures fund into a diversified global platform managing over $7.5 billion in committed capital across strategic venturing, diversified venturing through Prosperity7, domestic venturing via Wa’ed Ventures and late-stage venturing through Aramco Ventures’ growth fund.
Aladel has spent more than two decades within Aramco, holding leadership positions across strategy, downstream transformation, technology commercialisation and corporate development before becoming CEO of Aramco Ventures in 2020. Throughout his career, he has played a central role in helping connect emerging technologies with large-scale industrial deployment opportunities across the energy and industrial sectors.
In 2024, the platform expanded from $3.5bn to $7.5bn in committed capital, by launching a new Prosperity7 fund, as well as the dedicated late-stage venturing programme designed to scale deployment-ready technologies with strategic relevance to global industry.
Aramco Ventures has backed companies across the AI and industrial stack, including investments in semiconductor infrastructure, AI cloud computing, industrial software, robotics, advanced materials and decarbonisation technologies.
Unlike traditional corporate venture groups, Aramco Ventures measures success not only through financial returns, but also through strategic value creation and technology deployment. The organisation works closely with portfolio companies to pilot and scale technologies across industrial environments, with a strong emphasis on operational impact, efficiency and sustainability outcomes.
Aladel has consistently emphasised the importance of combining long-term capital with industrial scale, technical expertise and real-world deployment opportunities.
“We believe the next generation of transformative technologies will come from the convergence of AI, industrial systems, advanced infrastructure, and sustainability,” Aladel said previously. “Our role is to help accelerate those technologies from innovation into real-world impact.”
The GCV Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
