Kai Cenat

Kai Carlo Cenat III ( ; born December 16, 2001) is an American online streamer, YouTuber, and internet personality who specializes in comedic live streams and videos. As of 2026, he is the most-subscribed Twitch streamer in the world, as well as the most-followed Twitch streamer with 21 million followers. He is a member of the streamer collective Any Means Possible (AMP).

Regarded as one of the most popular online streamers in the world, he is known for popularizing several viral internet phrases like Rizz, Fanum tax, and Gyatt. Cenat has achieved significant milestones in the streaming community, notably becoming the first Twitch streamer to surpass 500,000 subscribers during his "Mafiathon 2" subathon in November 2024, and repeating the feat with 1,000,000 subscribers during his "Mafiathon 3" subathon in September 2025.

Early life and education

Kai Carlo Cenat III was born on December 16, 2001, in Brooklyn, New York City, to parents from the Caribbean; his mother is from Trinidad and Tobago and his father is from Haiti. Cenat was raised by his mother along with his three other siblings, a twin sister named Kaiya, an older brother named Devonte, and a younger brother named Kaleel.

Cenat attended Frederick Douglass Academy for his secondary education. He graduated from high school in 2019 and attended the State University of New York at Morrisville shortly after, to study business administration. He dropped out in 2020 after struggling to keep up with both schoolwork and content creation.

Career 2018–2021: Early career Cenat uploaded his first YouTube video on January 13, 2018, and began making videos surrounding pranks and challenges. He joined the YouTube group AMP after being discovered by fellow Bronx-born YouTuber Fanum. He started regularly appearing in the channel's videos. He began streaming on Twitch in February 2021 after migrating from YouTube, broadcasting video gaming and reaction content.

2022: Initial popularity In 2022, Cenat began including celebrity guests on his streams, including Bobby Shmurda in April, Lil Baby in October, and 21 Savage in November, who helped him receive his highest viewership at the time with 283,245 concurrent viewers at its peak.

On May 8, Cenat released his debut single "Bustdown Rollie Avalanche" with NLE Choppa, that was later certified Gold by RIAA.

In October, Cenat was nominated for the 12th Streamy Awards in the "Streamer of the Year" and "Breakout Streamer" categories,

2023: Mafiathon On January 31, Cenat began a month-long subathon, titled Mafiathon, which featured guests such as G Herbo, NLE Choppa, Skai Jackson, KSI, DDG, Rubi Rose, and Autumn Falls. On February 16, he signed with United Talent Agency for representation in all areas. On February 28, he became the most-subscribed Twitch streamer of all time at the time, reaching 306,621 subscribers at its peak. His record lasted until September 2024, when it was broken by Ironmouse.

In March, Cenat was reported to be making approximately $23,280 per month from his sleep streams, resulting in an annual income of $285,480. According to Streams Charts, his sleeping broadcasts have amassed over 5.6 million hours watched, showcasing the significant viewer engagement during these streams. On March 11, Cenat won "Streamer of the Year" at the 2023 Streamer Awards.

On April 17, Cenat was temporarily suspended on Twitch for reasons undisclosed, though he eventually returned, with him initially noting it as a permanent ban in error. Later that month, he appeared on Rolling Stones list of the 20 Most Influential Creators in 2023. On August 27, Cenat won the "Streamer of the Year" award at the 13th Streamy Awards. He was also nominated for "Just Chatting" awards at the same ceremony. He was later charged by the NYPD with first-degree rioting, inciting a riot, and unlawful assembly.

In September, Cenat was featured on the music video for Offset's single "Fan" alongside Fanum. In the following month, he made his music video directorial debut with American rapper a Boogie wit da Hoodie. On September 9, he participated in the Sidemen charity match at London Stadium, playing for YouTube Allstars. On September 26, Forbes ranked him 44th on its Top Creators list, earning an estimated $4.7 million in 2023. On December 14, Nicki Minaj appeared on Cenat's stream which broke his previous peak viewership record by 40,000 resulting in 348,593 concurrent viewers.

2024: Mafiathon 2

On February 8, during a livestream, Cenat announced that he has officially partnered with Nike stating, "I would like to announce that we are officially a part of the Nike family". He became the first streamer to get signed with the company. Later on February 17, Cenat won "Streamer of the Year" and "Best Just Chatting Streamer" at the February 2024 Streamer Awards. He was also nominated for "Best Streamed Event" at the same ceremony. On July 13, he appeared and participated in a MrBeast video titled "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000". In August, Rolling Stone listed Cenat at number 1 on their "25 Most Influential Creators of 2024" list, as the most-subscribed Twitch influencer. In October, McDonald's announced that they had teamed up with Cenat to promote the launch of chicken Big Mac in the US. Later that month, Forbes ranked him 24th on its Top Creators list, earning an estimated $8.5 million in 2024.

On November 1, Cenat began his second month-long subathon, titled Mafiathon 2, with 20% of the proceeds made from subscriptions going towards building a school in Nigeria. The subathon featured numerous guests such as Lil Uzi Vert, Miranda Cosgrove, Snoop Dogg, Quavo, GloRilla, members of the cast from the Disney Channel sitcom Good Luck Charlie, Kodak Black, Denzel Curry, Serena Williams, Marshmello, the Jabbawockeez, Soulja Boy, Bill Nye, Andre Iguodala, Lil Dicky, Ibai Llanos, Benny Blanco, Chris Brown, Lizzo, SZA, Ludwig Ahgren, Lil Yachty, Travis Barker, Mark Rober, Sexyy Red, Druski, Kevin Hart, Kyrie Irving, NPC Miles Morales, and Ironmouse. On November 11, Cenat reclaimed the record of being the most-subscribed Twitch streamer, with 337,000 subscribers at the time. On December 11, Major released a statement on social media, stating that he did not lie to Cenat's team and the stunt had been already cleared by Twitch. On November 30, Cenat ended his month-long subathon with 728,535 subscribers, doubling the previous record held by Ironmouse.

2025: Streamer University and Mafiathon 3

In January 2025, Cenat made an appearance for WWE on the January 27 episode of Raw, where he announced that he will be attending the Royal Rumble event and called out IShowSpeed. On March 8, Cenat participated in the 2025 Sidemen Charity Match, held at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom, playing for the YouTube Allstars team. He managed to score a goal in the 68th minute. On May 22, Cenat began his three-day long Streamer University event, where Cenat selected 120 content creators to gather at the University of Akron campus in Akron, Ohio to "have the opportunity to showcase their personalities and brand and meet other creators". The event also featured other content creators, including DDG and ExtraEmily, acting as professors to mentor the 120 selectees through various topics such as "internet beef" and improv. On September 1, Cenat began his third and final month-long subathon, titled Mafiathon 3, with 15% of the proceeds made from subscriptions continuing to go towards building the Nigerian school that was announced for the last subathon. The subathon featured numerous guests such as Miles Caton, the Jabbawockeez, Kim Kardashian, Roman Atwood, Ray J, Mariah Carey, Lizzo, Ice Spice, Latto, and Linkin Park.

In November 2025, he set a record on Twitch by became the first streamer to ever hit 20 million followers and 1 million subscribers.

2026: Career expansion, break from streaming, and Streamer University 2 On January 13, 2026, Cenat released a YouTube video titled "I Quit", in which he announced a shift from streaming to broader pursuits. In the video, he addressed his mental health, citing self-doubt and a need to reset from his streaming schedule. The video also served as the launch for his clothing brand, "Vivet", which he developed after traveling to Italy where he participated in the sewing and production of the line's apparel. In early 2026, Cenat began a series of daily livestreams focused on reading aloud to improve his literacy. Educators noted the positive impact of these broadcasts, crediting Cenat with normalizing reading challenges and encouraging literacy among young audiences. On July 6, 2026, Cenat returned to streaming on Twitch after a nine-month hiatus to unveil the students and professors of Streamer University 2, which ran from July 15 to July 20 at the Hendrix College campus in Conway, Arkansas.

Cultural impact Cenat is credited with popularizing viral internet slang words such as rizz, which is derived from "charisma" and defined as "style, charm, or attractiveness"; and gyatt, a permutation of "Goddamn" that is used in reference to a person with prominent buttocks. Oxford University Press named Rizz its word of the year for 2023, and Gyatt was nominated for the American Dialect Society's 2023 Word of The Year. In July 2025, Cenat was named in Time magazine's inaugural "TIME100 Creators" list – branded by the publication as the 100 most influential digital voices.

Cenat was added to Fortnite as part of their Icon Series, being added to the game on September 12, 2025.

Personal life Cenat is religious and believes in God.

In December 2024, Cenat was reported to be in a relationship with TikTok influencer Gabrielle Alayah; he confirmed the relationship during his birthday livestream following months of fan speculation.

Discography Singles

Guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists Title Year Other artist(s) Album "The End of the Road Begins – Intro" 2023 Fast X (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack) "Truth in the Lies"2025 Central Cee, Lil Durk Can't Rush Greatness

Filmography

Film

Music videos +YearTitleArtist(s)2020"Shoot"Adot2022"Distraction"Polo G"Just Wanna Rock"Lil Uzi Vert"Plenty"FaZe Kaysan feat. Nardo Wick, G Herbo, Babyface Ray & BIG302023"Fan"Offset2025"Truth in the Lies" Central Cee feat. Lil Durk

Awards and nominations

Listicles