Elon Musk's partner Shivon Zilis has Indian roots. She has built her career at IBM and OpenAI before joining Neuralink. Photo: ANI.
Elon Musk recently appeared in a much-hyped WTF-podcast series hosted by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. The world’s richest man spoke about a range of issues, including the future of work, tech, AI, entrepreneurship, innovation, and robotics. The podcast also gives insights into the personal life of Tesla CEO, including information about his wife and children.
During the conversation, Musk spoke candidly about his partner Shivon Zilis and her Indian background.
“You know, my partner Shivon she is half Indian. I do not know if you know that,” Musk said.
Kamath responded, “I did not know that.”
Musk added, “Yes and one of my sons with her is, middle name is Sekhar, after Nobel laureate Chandra Sekhar.”
A surprised Kamath replied, “Wow. Very interesting. Did she spend any time in India, Shivon?”
Musk clarified, “No, she grew up in Canada.”
When Kamath asked whether he meant her ancestry or origins through her parents or grandparents, Musk explained, “Yes, yes, her father, I mean she was given up for adoption when she was a baby. So I think her father was like an exchange student at the university or something like that. I am not sure of the exact details, but, you know, it was the kind of thing where, I do not know, she was given up for adoption. Yeah, but she grew up in Canada.”
Shivon Zilis, who is half Indian, is a Canadian businesswoman and an executive at Neuralink, the neurotechnology company co-founded by Musk. According to reports, she was born to a Punjabi mother and a Canadian father.
In 2021, Shivon and Musk welcomed two children, Azure and Strider. In 2024, the couple welcomed their third child. She has reportedly moved into the Texas home Musk built for all his 11 children.
Shivon was born in Canada to an Indian mother, Sharda N, and a Canadian father, Richard Zilis. She previously worked at Tesla as a Project Director between 2017 and 2019.
Zilis began her professional career at IBM before joining Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg LP. There, she worked on internal startups and partnerships, specialised in early-stage investments in machine intelligence, and became a founding member of the firm.
In 2017, she joined Neuralink, where she became its director of operations and special projects, overseeing early development and operational strategy.
In September 2023, Zilis joined the board of Shield AI, a defence technology company building artificial intelligence systems for aircraft.
Shivon has previously worked with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. She has earned a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list of venture capitalists in 2015, and she was also named in LinkedIn’s 35 Under 35.
Recently, Shivon Zilis accompanied Musk during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Musk’s visit to the United States.
Also Read: Why Elon Musk Says Work Could Become Optional In 10–20 Years With AI And Robotics
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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