Kai Cenat Real Name
Kai Carlo Cenat III (/ˈkaɪ sɪˈnæt/ ⓘ KY sih-NAT; born December 16, 2001) is an American online streamer, YouTuber, and internet personality who specializes in comedic live streams and videos. As of 2025, he is the most-subscribed Twitch streamer in the world, as well as the most-followed Twitch streamer with 19 million followers. He is a member of the streamer collective Any Means Possible (AMP).
Considered as one of the most popular online streamers in the world, he is known for coining several viral 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 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. Cenat had an acting role in the trailer for Polo G’s June 2022 single “Distraction”.
In October, Cenat was nominated for the 12th Streamy Awards in the “Streamer of the Year” and “Breakout Streamer” categories, winning the former in December.[citation needed]
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.
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 June 2, Cenat along with AMP collaborated with Beta Squad, a British YouTube group, and held a charity soccer match at Selhurst Park, London, England. The event raised funds for The Water Project. The match ended in a 6–6 draw after a pitch invasion forced the game to be called off. 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 Macs in the US. Later that month, Forbes ranked him 24th on its Top Creators list, earning an estimated $8.5 million in 2024.
In December, Cenat won Best Just Chatting Streamer, Best Marathon Stream, and Best Streamed Collab (for a sleepover stream with Kevin Hart and Druski) at second iteration of The Streamer Awards that year. He was also nominated for Gamer of the Year and Streamer of the Year.
2025–present: 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 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, and Latto.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12th Streamy Awards | Streamer of the Year | Himself | Won | [31] |
| Breakout Streamer | Nominated | ||||
| The Streamer Awards | Streamer of the Year | Won | [97] | ||
| 2023 | The Esports Awards | Nominated | [98] | ||
| 13th Streamy Awards | Won | [43] | |||
| Just Chatting | Won | ||||
| The Streamer Awards | Streamer of the Year | Won | [53] | ||
| Best Just Chatting Streamer | Won | ||||
| Best Streamed Event | 7 Days In | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Himself | Won | [99] |
| The Streamer Awards | Best Streamed Collab | Sleepover Stream with Kevin Hart & Druski | Won | [67][66] | |
| Best Marathon Stream | Mafiathon 2 | Won | |||
| Best Just Chatting Streamer | Himself | Won | |||
| Gamer of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Streamer of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2025 | Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Gamer | Himself | Nominated | [100] |
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Good Burger 2 | Disgruntled Customer | Guest appearance |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | “Shoot” | Adot | Himself |
| 2022 | “Distraction” | Polo G | |
| “Just Wanna Rock” | Lil Uzi Vert | ||
| “Plenty” | FaZe Kaysan feat. Nardo Wick, G Herbo, Babyface Ray & BIG30 | ||
| 2023 | “Fan” | Offset | |
| 2025 | “Truth in the Lies” | Central Cee feat. Lil Durk |
See also
- List of most-subscribed Twitch channels
- List of most-followed Twitch channels
- List of YouTubers
