Who is Shivon Zilis? Everything to know about the Neuralink executive as she reveals welcoming 4th child with Elon Musk

Elon Musk and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis welcomed a new member into their lives. Zilis announced the news through an X post on March 1, 2025. Naming their fourth child Seldon Lycurgus, she wrote:

“Discussed with Elon and, in light of beautiful Arcadia’s birthday, we felt it was better to also just share directly about our wonderful and incredible son Seldon Lycurgus. Built like a juggernaut, with a solid heart of gold. Love him so much.”

According to People magazine, Shivon Zilis was raised in Ontario, Canada, and later attended Yale University, where she studied economics and philosophy. During college, she played as a goalie for the ice hockey team.

She began her career at IBM and Bloomberg, focusing on internal startups and partnerships with emerging companies before leading the venture capital firm Bloomberg Beta. Zilis later transitioned into the AI industry, joining OpenAI in 2016, a company co-founded by Elon Musk.

She eventually became the youngest member of its board of directors but stepped down in March 2023. In 2017, she joined Neuralink, Musk’s brain-chip company focused on addressing brain and spinal conditions.

Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis quietly welcomed twins Strider and Azure in November 2021. Nearly three years later, on February 28, 2024, they had their third child, Arcadia.

According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, Zilis shared that Musk strongly believed intelligent individuals should have children and encouraged her to do so.

She explained that when faced with the option of using an anonymous sperm donor or having children with someone she deeply admired, the decision was clear. She also expressed that there were no other genes she would have preferred for her children.

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Elon Musk thinks having kids could make people happier

During a conversation with YouTuber Zuby on July 5, 2023, Elon Musk reflected on the question of having children. Musk believes many countries have systems that make raising children financially challenging, especially for those who want to provide top-tier education.

Despite this, he finds it ironic that higher-income individuals tend to have fewer children, which he sees as an unexpected trend. He also thinks there are unfounded fears about financial strain associated with having kids, though he admits he doesn’t have a clear solution to the issue. When asked how having kids made his life better, Elon Musk said:

“Well, I think. I don’t know. It’s like I think, it’s normal to love your kids, you know, it’s just kind of an automatic thing and they have got this little creature that’s depending on you to take care of it and it’s rewarding to do so I think inherently.

He continued:

“So, I mean they are a lot of fun, but I don’t know. You love them, they love you.”

He also feels that having children brings immense happiness, emphasizing that humans are naturally wired to love and care for their kids. He compares this instinct to animals that may be aggressive in the wild but become nurturing parents once they have offspring.