Ajay Royan's path to venture investing ran through macro and growth equity at Clarium rather than traditional venture apprenticeship, and today he sits on science and policy bodies like Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Science Advisory Board, Fulbright Canada's board, and the National Academies' Presidents' Circle while backing hard technical fields such as cybersecurity, medical devices, and fusion energy, often looking past the Bay Area to places like India for promising founders. He chairs Fractyl Health as part of this hands-on approach, and he has described Mithril from its earliest days in more literary, enduring terms—tying its Tolkien-inspired name to a broader ambition of building companies meant to last.