Musk also disclosed that one of their sons carries an Indian middle name as a tribute to Nobel Prize-winning
Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. “One of my sons with her… his middle name is Sekhar after
Nobel laureate Chandra Sekhar,” he said.
Notably, Zilis and Musk share four children: twins Strider and Azure, daughter Arcadia, and son Seldon Lycurgus.
(Also Read: ‘My son’s middle name is Sekhar’: Elon Musk tells Nikhil Kamath about partner Shivon’s Indian roots)
Shivon Zilis was born in Canada to an Indian mother, Sharda N, and a Canadian father, Richard Zilis. She holds dual
citizenship in Canada and the United States. A Yale University graduate, she studied economics and philosophy before
entering the world of tech, AI and venture capital.
Over the years, Zilis has held key roles in some of the most influential companies in the tech ecosystem. She previously
worked at Tesla as Project Director between 2017 and 2019. She currently serves as director of operations and special
projects at Neuralink, a brain implant company owned by Musk.
Zilis was recognised early in her career for her work in artificial intelligence. In 2015, Forbes named her to its “30
Under 30” list in the venture capital category. She has also worked with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and was one of the
founding members of Bloomberg Beta, an early-stage venture capital firm backed by Bloomberg LP, where she led nine
She is believed to have met Musk through AI industry connections in San Francisco when she became involved with OpenAI,
Musk’s artificial intelligence initiative at the time.