STILL ALIVE AND UNFILTERED
Samay Raina (born 26 October 1997) is an Indian stand-up comedian and YouTuber. He rose to prominence as the co-winner of Comicstaan 2 (2019). In 2024, he created and hosted the viral comedy talent show India's Got Latent.
Raina was born in Jammu city into a conservative Kashmiri Pandit family. He enrolled in print engineering at Vidhyarthi Griha's College in Pune, which he famously labeled a "waste of time." This period marked his entry into the Pune comedy circuit through local open mics.
Raina began his journey opening for comedians like Anirban Dasgupta and Abhishek Upmanyu. After moving to Mumbai, his career accelerated. In 2026, he became one of the youngest Indian comedians to perform at Madison Square Garden. His debut comedy special, Still Alive, was released on YouTube on 7 March 2026.
During the pandemic, Samay transformed the Indian YouTube landscape by streaming chess. Supported by GM Vidit Gujrathi and Tanmay Bhat, he made chess accessible to millions through humor. He has hosted world champions like Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov on his channel.
| Tournament | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| COB #1 | Aakash Mehta | Kunal Rao |
| COB #2 | Anirban DasGupta | Samay Raina |
| COB All Stars #4 | Samay Raina | Biswa Kalyan Rath |
| COB: Homecoming | Tracy Viegas | Vivek Desai |
In June 2024, Raina launched India's Got Latent, a talent show that became a cultural phenomenon. He expanded this into a dedicated mobile app that reached the top of the App Store and Google Play charts, with visions of becoming a specialized OTT service.