{"id":"shiv-shankar","title":"Shiv Shankar","content":"**Shiv Shankar** is a technology executive and entrepreneur known for his work in [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) infrastructure and zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography. He is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boundless, a decentralized protocol for [ZK proof](https://iq.wiki/wiki/zero-knowledge-proofs-zkps) generation, and previously served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at RiscZero, where he was a key figure in the development of the Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine (ZKVM). [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-KPuR3oEitO)\n\n## Education\n\nShiv Shankar holds a Master of Science in Computational Finance and Risk Management from the University of Washington (2021–2024) and a Master’s degree in Economics from Purdue University (2019–2021). He completed undergraduate studies in Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (2007–2011) and also studied Business Administration at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (2007–2011). Shankar attended St. James' School in India, where he completed the Indian School Certificate Examinations (1994–2007).  [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-pI4FMfoMfI)\n\n## Career\n\nShiv Shankar's career is rooted in database systems and spans both traditional technology and [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) sectors. He began in software engineering and leadership roles at Microsoft (October 2011 – May 2014), Lookout (May 2014 – July 2015), Grab (July 2015 – January 2017), Amazon (February 2017 – May 2018), and Lyft (June 2018 – July 2021), gaining experience in building markets for both physical and digital goods. His transition into the [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) space included a role at [Coinbase](https://iq.wiki/wiki/coinbase) (July 2021 – June 2022), where he led engineering teams focused on country-specific launches and QR code advertising, followed by a position at Ava Labs (June 2022 – December 2023), supporting the [Avalanche (AVAX)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/avalanche-avax) [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) and its [Layer 1](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-1) protocol.\n\nShankar then joined RISC Zero, serving as Vice President of Engineering (December 2023 – November 2024), Chief Information Officer (November 2024 – May 2025), and briefly as Chief Executive Officer of Boundless within RISC Zero (May – June 2025), where he oversaw product and engineering teams and led the development of the company's ZKVM technology. In June 2025, he founded Boundless Network to advance the operationalization of [zero-knowledge proofs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/zero-knowledge-proofs-zkps) and currently serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Earlier in his career, he also founded Credit Mobile (January – July 2010), a micro-finance startup, and held a student leadership role at the National University of Singapore (June – December 2008).  [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-KPuR3oEitO) [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-zgs0zROmCR) [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-3m0SsJptJg) [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-pI4FMfoMfI)\n\n## Media Appearances\n\n### Talking Tokens Podcast\n\nIn September 2025, Shiv Shankar was featured on *Talking Tokens*, where he discussed his work as CEO of Boundless, a protocol for verifiable compute across multiple [blockchains](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) powered by RISC Zero's zkVM technology. He explained the role of [zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/zero-knowledge-proofs-zkps) in enhancing privacy, scaling applications, and enabling cross-chain interoperability. During the episode, Shankar also described the launch of Boundless’ mainnet beta on [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) with support from the [Ethereum Foundation](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-foundation-ef), and the use of proof-of-verifiable-work to reduce costs and improve user experience.\n$$widget0 [YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vBU9MVifnYE)$$\n\n### Seed Club\n\nShankar also appeared on the Seed Club podcast 11 AM w/ Seed Club. In the episode, they discussed Boundless's technology, which uses a ZKVM (Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine) to allow developers to write zero-knowledge programs in high-level languages like Rust, making the technology more accessible.\n$$widget0 [YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ry4E-adkeVk)$$","summary":"Shiv Shankar is the CEO of Boundless, a protocol for decentralized ZK compute. A former CTO/CIO of Risc Zero, he has a background in engineering leadership at Ava Labs, Coinbase, Microsoft, and Amazon, focusing on ZK proofs and blockchain scalability.","images":[{"id":"QmPbHJw4Pi1ySWURQnZYuPo2Qz12SjcwUCNmWUdwHmkQ6P","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"people"}],"tags":[{"id":"PeopleInDeFi"},{"id":"Founders"},{"id":"Developers"},{"id":"Organizations"},{"id":"Ethereum"}],"media":[{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBU9MVifnYE","name":"vBU9MVifnYE","caption":"","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBU9MVifnYE","source":"YOUTUBE"},{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry4E-adkeVk","name":"ry4E-adkeVk","caption":"","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry4E-adkeVk","source":"YOUTUBE"}],"metadata":[{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"KPuR3oEitO\",\"url\":\"https://www.eblockmedia.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=21134\",\"description\":\"eBlock Media interview with Shiv Shankar\",\"timestamp\":1757933898516},{\"id\":\"zgs0zROmCR\",\"url\":\"https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/p/from-software-engineer-to-ceo-how-shiv-shankar-went-from-microsoft-lyft-coinbase-and-more-to-leading\",\"description\":\"Talking Tokens podcast summary\",\"timestamp\":1757933898516},{\"id\":\"3m0SsJptJg\",\"url\":\"https://www.eblockmedia.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=19464\",\"description\":\"eBlock Media article on Boundless launch\",\"timestamp\":1757933898516},{\"id\":\"sCGOtae5bR\",\"url\":\"https://blockster.com/scaling-the-future-shiv-shankar-on-ethereum-zk-and-verifiable-compute\",\"description\":\"Blockster interview with Shiv Shankar\",\"timestamp\":1757933898516},{\"id\":\"event-founded-and-became-ceo-of-boundless-link\",\"description\":\"Event link\",\"url\":\"https://www.eblockmedia.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=19464\",\"timestamp\":1757933898935},{\"id\":\"pI4FMfoMfI\",\"description\":\"LinkedIn: Shiv Shankar\",\"timestamp\":1757934113724,\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiv-shankar/\"}]"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiv-shankar/"},{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/ssh_nkar"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"\"https://ipfs.everipedia.org/ipfs/QmaDV5JNzTrNHzCEChTKHwcXF1FNqMPpe544ryPiN3fCKo\""},{"id":"commit-message","value":"\"Update: Expand career history and add media appearances with video embeds.\""},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmaDV5JNzTrNHzCEChTKHwcXF1FNqMPpe544ryPiN3fCKo"}],"events":[{"id":"55a27285-85bf-411c-a441-f4eae05f6b75","date":"2022-01","title":"Transitioned to Web3 at Coinbase & Ava Labs","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Held engineering leadership roles at Coinbase and Ava Labs, working on projects like the Avalanche (AVAX) Layer 1 protocol and other crypto-native initiatives.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"eb8f6f2c-896e-4d6b-ac0c-eb029834f3f6","date":"2023-10","title":"Appointed CTO/CIO at Risc Zero","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Led the development of the RiscZero ZKVM, a key innovation that allows developers to use Zero-Knowledge proofs without specialized circuit design expertise.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"5d096425-7e82-4ac6-89f3-40772ff2cee9","date":"2024-10","title":"Founded and Became CEO of Boundless","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Founded Boundless and was appointed CEO to build a decentralized marketplace for ZK computation, aiming to make the technology accessible across all chains.","link":"https://www.eblockmedia.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=19464","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null}],"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"language":"en","version":1,"linkedWikis":{"blockchains":[],"founders":[],"speakers":[]}}