Alan Chikin Chow

Alan was born and raised in Plano, Texas. His father is an engineer at NASA and his mother is the owner of a preschool.^[10] His brother Alvan Chow is an investor and a cast-member of the Netflix documentary Eat the Rich.^[11]

Alan earned his Bachelors Degree from USC studying screenwriting and business administration.^[12] His career in content creation also started during his time at the USC as a way to make his family laugh.^[12]

Chow began as a model for JC Penney, then booked acting roles on I Didn’t Do It, Grey’s Anatomy, and Into the Dark.^[8] He also voiced characters in anime series including One Piece.^[8]

He started uploading YouTube videos, quickly becoming the most-watched Shorts creator in the United States.^[9][13][14]

Chow launched Alan’s Universe, a high-school drama about love and friendship, which has over 1 billion views and has been featured on Good Morning America and CBS News.^[12][15][16]

In 2024, his channel entered YouTube’s global Top 50. He signed with CAA and opened a 10,000 square-foot production studio in Burbank, California, which was attended by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.^[17][18] Alan’s Universe was also made available on Roku TV, Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.^[19][20][21]

In 2025, he announced a joint venture with HYBE Corporation to create and star in a new pop group and streaming series. Alan serves as executive producer and star for HYBE AMERICA x AU alongside Scooter Braun and James Shin.^[22][23]

Bloomberg has described Alan’s content as having the “DNA in classic American tween series such as Boy Meets World, a coming-of-age ’90s sitcom [and] the South Korean high school drama Boys Over Flowers” and compares it to the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon of the new age.^[24]

In 2026, Netflix picked up Alan and HYBE America’s scripted k-pop TV series. Jingu Jang, former Vice President of BIGHIT Music, joined the project as an executive producer.^[25][26] The series is described to follow a misfit crew of aspiring pop idols enrolled in an arts academy who come together to form a co-ed band.^[27]

Alan has been ranked in multiple top creator lists, including Forbes Top Creators, Forbes 30 Under 30, and TIME100 Creators.^{[10][28][29][30]} YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has referred to his impact as a “powerful symbol of the broader shift happening in the entertainment industry”.^[31]

He works with Act to Change, a non-profit against bullying for AAPI youth. He donated to the organization during TikTok's #GivingSzn.^[32][33]