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A.R.I. backs Drake’s OVO towards Canada’s Next Major Cultural Export

October’s Very Own (OVO) is stepping into a new growth era after securing a growth capital investment from Applied Real Intelligence (A.R.I.), positioning the Canadian lifestyle brand founded by Drake, Oliver El‑Khatib, and Noah “40” Shebib to scale globally alongside the world’s most influential celebrity‑led labels.

Published: Jan 14, 2026 10:21 AM

By Jeanel Alvarado

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A.R.I. backs Drake’s OVO towards Canada’s Next Major Cultural Export

October’s Very Own (OVO) is stepping into a new growth era after securing a growth capital investment from Applied Real Intelligence (A.R.I.), positioning the Canadian lifestyle brand founded by Drake, Oliver El‑Khatib, and Noah “40” Shebib to scale globally alongside the world’s most influential celebrity‑led labels. The deal reinforces OVO’s status as one of Canada’s most powerful cultural exports, with ambitions that now extend far beyond music into fashion, sport, and global streetwear.

A.R.I. backs OVO’s next growth chapter A.R.I., a U.S.‑based investment firm focused on growth financing for innovative, category‑defining companies, has made a growth capital investment in OVO, aiming to support its next phase of expansion. Founder and Managing General Partner Dr.

Zack Ellison framed the deal around surging investor appetite for culturally authentic brands, pointing to streetwear label Human Made, partially owned by Pharrell Williams, which went public at nearly $500 million and was reportedly 60 times oversubscribed as a recent benchmark. Dr.

Ellison said, “There is extraordinary global demand for culturally authentic brands right now,” adding that OVO is uniquely positioned by blending global influence across fashion, music, and sports with a lifestyle presence that sets it apart.

He described OVO as “the next generation of Canadian entrepreneurship,” calling what Drake, Oliver, and 40 built “culturally unparalleled.” From Toronto collective to global lifestyle brand Founded in Toronto in 2008, October’s Very Own began as a music collective and has since evolved into a vertically integrated lifestyle company with 12 flagship stores and a global e‑commerce…

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