Shivon Zilis
Shivon Alice Zilis is a Canadian technology executive and venture capitalist known for her work in artificial intelligence and venture capital. Born in Markham, Ontario, she has held significant roles at Bloomberg Beta, Tesla, and Neuralink, and served on the board of OpenAI. Her career intersects with major figures in the tech industry, notably Elon Musk, with whom she has four children. Zilis's professional journey and high-profile personal life make her a notable figure in discussions about technology, business, and Canadian achievement on the global stage.
Early Life and Education
Shivon Zilis was born in Markham, Ontario, to Richard and Sharda Zilis. Her mother is of Indian origin while her father is Caucasian Canadian, giving her a multicultural upbringing in the Greater Toronto Area. She attended Unionville High School in her hometown before moving to the United States for university. Zilis enrolled at Yale University, where she pursued a double major in economics and philosophy, graduating in 2008. Beyond academics, she was an accomplished athlete, playing as a goaltender for the Yale ice hockey team. Her performance was historically significant, as she left the university as its all-time leader in goals-against average, a record demonstrating her competitive discipline.
Career in Venture Capital and AI
After Yale, Zilis began her professional career at IBM in New York, focusing on financial technologies for developing countries such as Peru and Indonesia. This early experience in global tech deployment set the stage for her move into venture capital. From 2012 to 2018, she was a founding investor and partner at Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital fund backed by Bloomberg L.P. At the fund, she specialized in what she termed machine intelligence, an early focus on artificial intelligence startups. Her work there included writing the initial term sheet for a seed round in defence tech company Shield AI in 2016, a firm she would later join as a board member. This period established her reputation as a forward-thinking investor in deep technology.
Executive Roles at Tesla and Neuralink
Zilis transitioned from investing to operational roles within Elon Musk's corporate ecosystem. From 2017 to 2019, she served as a project director for Tesla, Inc., working specifically on the Autopilot product and the team designing its custom chips. This role placed her at the forefront of automotive automation and hardware development. She then moved to Neuralink, Musk's brain computer interface company, taking on the position of director of operations and special projects. In this capacity, she has been involved in the startup's ambitious efforts to develop implantable brain machine interfaces. Her executive role at Neuralink continued to be her primary professional focus as of 2026, alongside her board duties elsewhere.
Board Roles and OpenAI Tenure
Zilis's board service has been a significant and sometimes controversial part of her career. She served as a board member at OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research lab, a position she held until 2023. She initially met Musk through her non profit work at the organization. Her tenure later became a subject of scrutiny during Musk's 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI. Text messages revealed in the legal discovery process showed that Zilis acted as an informant for Musk while on the board, describing her efforts as keeping the info flowing to him about internal matters. She testified about this during the trial, acknowledging she kept the paternity of her twins secret from the OpenAI board. In September 2023, she joined the board of directors of Shield AI, the defence technology company she had initially backed years earlier.
Personal Life and Relationship with Elon Musk
Zilis's personal life became a matter of public record through court filings and her own statements. It was revealed in July 2022 that she and Elon Musk had twin children, a son and a daughter, born in November 2021 via in vitro fertilization. Court documents listed them at the same address in Austin, Texas. The couple had two more children together, with a third reported in June 2024 and a fourth, a son, announced by Zilis in February 2025. The children's conception was through IVF, and one has the middle name Sekhar after physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Zilis and Musk attended a high profile wedding together at Mar a Lago in February 2026. In October 2026, Zilis announced on social media that Musk had ended their relationship suddenly and without warning. She expressed a hope that they would remain friends and committed co parents to their four children.
Recognition and Public Profile
Zilis has received recognition for her work in the technology investment community. In 2015, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the venture capital category, highlighting her early impact. She was also included in LinkedIn's 35 Under 35 list, which profiles influential young professionals. Her public profile increased substantially due to her association with Musk and her testimony in the OpenAI lawsuit, where she was cast as his inside source at the organization. Despite the personal attention, her professional biography emphasizes her Canadian origins and her focus on artificial and biological intelligence. She describes her interests on social media as artificial intelligence, biological intelligence, and whatever exists in between and beyond, alongside the tagline Made in Canada.
Questions about Shivon Zilis
Who is Shivon Zilis?
Shivon Zilis is a Canadian technology executive and venture capitalist. She is known for her roles as a partner at Bloomberg Beta, a project director at Tesla, and the director of operations at Neuralink. She also served on the board of OpenAI until 2023 and joined the board of Shield AI in 2023. Zilis is the mother of four children with entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Where is Shivon Zilis from?
Shivon Zilis is from Markham, Ontario, Canada. She was born there on February 8, 1986, and attended Unionville High School. Her mother is of Indian origin and her father is Caucasian Canadian. She later moved to the United States to attend Yale University before beginning her career in New York.
How many children does Shivon Zilis have with Elon Musk?
Shivon Zilis has four children with Elon Musk. The first two are twins, a son and a daughter, born in November 2021. They had a third child in 2024 and a fourth, a son, in February 2025. All children were conceived via in vitro fertilization. Zilis and Musk are co parents following the end of their romantic relationship in 2026.
Are Shivon Zilis and Elon Musk still together?
No, Shivon Zilis and Elon Musk are not together. In October 2026, Zilis announced that Musk had ended their relationship suddenly and without warning. She stated the separation had occurred and expressed her hope that they would remain friends and dedicated co parents to their four children. They were seen together publicly at a wedding in early 2026 prior to the breakup.
Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-18.
