Cauê Vinícius dos Santos was born in Ituverava, in the interior of São Paulo state, on 16 November 2002. A centre-forward, he was formed at Grêmio Novorizontino and spent part of that period on loan at Corinthians, earning three caps for Brazil's under-20 side in 2020. In January 2022 he moved to Europe with the Belgian club Lommel SK on a five-year contract.

On 30 August 2023 Benfica announced his arrival on a season-long loan for the B team. Wearing the number 88, he was the reserve side's leading attacking threat in 2023/24, making 28 appearances and scoring seven goals in Liga Portugal 2, though he was never promoted to the first team and the loan was not renewed.

He returned to Lommel and was loaned on to Gil Vicente for 2024/25 and then to Casa Pia. In September 2025 he went back to Brazil, signing for Criciúma until 2028.