Elon Musk recently surprised listeners during his appearance on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast “WTF is?” by revealing personal details about his partner Shivon Zilis — including her Indian roots.Reported By Shuvangi Bhattacharya, Financial Express.
The tech executive, who plays a key role at Neuralink and shares four children with Musk, has built a remarkable career across some of the most influential companies in technology.
Tesla CEO and the world’s richest man stunned the internet when he disclosed that he not only has a son whose middle name is Shekhar, after Indian Nobel Laureate S. Chandrashekhar, but also that his partner Shivon Zilis has Indian ancestry.
Who is Shivon Zilis?
Born to a Punjabi Hindu mother and a White Canadian father, Shivon Zilis is currently the Director of Operations and Special Projects at Musk-owned Neuralink. The 39-year-old Yale graduate is mother to twins Strider and Azure, daughter Aracadia, and son Seldon Lycurgus.
Her impressive career spans major organisations including OpenAI, Bloomberg LP, IBM, and Tesla. After completing her degree in Economics and Philosophy in 2008, she began her career at IBM in New York. From 2012–2018, she served as a founding investor at Bloomberg Beta, earning a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2015.
She later worked as Project Director for Tesla’s Autopilot Program (2017–2018) and has held board positions at OpenAI, Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute), and Vector Institute, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Zilis developed a passion for Artificial Intelligence early in life, at around age 12 or 13. Speaking to Business Insider, she said, “I’ve basically spent pretty much all of the last decade focused in and around AI unfolding in the world in the best way possible.”
Her shared enthusiasm for AI is what first connected her with Musk in 2016 while she was working at OpenAI.
She was adopted at birth
During the podcast, Musk discussed Zilis’ upbringing, saying, “She grew up in Canada. She was given up for adoption when she was a baby. I think her father was like an exchange student at the university or something like that.
“I’m not sure about the exact details, but you know it was kind of thing where I don’t know, she was given up for adoption. But she grew up in Canada,” he added.
Musk on Indian talent
Musk also reflected on India’s global impact, noting, “America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India, but that seems to be changing now.”
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