Shivon Zilis
Shivon Alice Zilis | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 8, 1986 Markham, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Technology executive, venture capitalist |
| Known for | Venture capital at Bloomberg Beta, roles at Tesla, Neuralink, OpenAI board member |
Shivon Alice Zilis (born February 8, 1986) is a Canadian executive specializing in technology and a prominent venture capitalist.
Early life and education
Born in Markham, Ontario, Canada, Zilis is the daughter of a Punjabi Indian mother and a Canadian father. She completed her secondary education at Unionville High School before earning dual degrees in economics and philosophy from Yale University in 2008. While at Yale, she distinguished herself as the all-time leader in goals-against average playing as a goaltender for the women's ice hockey team.
Career
Following her graduation from Yale, Zilis started her professional journey at IBM in New York, concentrating on financial technology initiatives within emerging markets including Peru and Indonesia. Between 2012 and 2018, she was a founding partner and investor at Bloomberg Beta, a venture capital fund supported by Bloomberg L.P. that focuses on startups in machine intelligence.
From 2017 to 2019, Zilis took on the role of project director for the Autopilot division and chip design team at Tesla, Inc.. Subsequently, she held the position of director of operations and special projects at Neuralink. Her connection with Elon Musk originated through her board membership at OpenAI, where she served until 2023.
In September 2023, Zilis became a board member of defense technology firm Shield AI. Notably, she had previously prepared the company's term sheet for its 2016 seed funding round during her tenure at Bloomberg Beta.
Awards and honors
Zilis earned recognition in 2015 when she was listed among Forbes 30 Under 30 venture capitalists and also featured in LinkedIn's 35 Under 35.
Personal life
Legal documents from July 2022 disclosed that Zilis and Elon Musk are parents to twins—a son and daughter—born in November 2021 through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The couple shared a residence in Austin, Texas. In June 2024, it was reported that she had given birth to their third child together. On February 28, 2025, Zilis announced the arrival of their fourth child, also conceived via IVF.