José Valim created Elixir in 2011 for the Erlang virtual machine.
Valim designed Elixir to provide modern language features and extensibility while using the Erlang ecosystem. Elixir programs run on the BEAM, Erlang’s virtual machine, and can use Erlang libraries directly. This gives Elixir access to mature tools for concurrency, distribution, and fault-tolerant systems.
Elixir uses a Ruby-influenced syntax and supports functional programming, immutable data, pattern matching, and lightweight processes. The language became particularly visible through the Phoenix web framework and applications requiring many concurrent connections.
Elixir is not a replacement name for Erlang. Erlang was created earlier at Ericsson, whereas Elixir is a separate language that targets the same virtual-machine ecosystem and interoperates closely with Erlang.