What Nova Development does

Nova Development is a privately-held US consumer software publisher founded in 1984 and headquartered at 15001 Meridian Parkway, Suite A, Riverside, California. The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nexa13 Group, a diversified software publishing conglomerate, and self-describes as among the largest US publishers of software geared exclusively to consumers and small businesses. Its catalog spans seven principal categories — print creativity (Print Artist, Art Explosion, Greeting Card Factory, MyLabel Designer, Scrapbook Factory), digital photography (Photo Explosion, inPixio, Ashampoo photo tools), home and living / 3D design (Virtual Architect, Ashampoo 3D CAD), digital media (Ashampoo Burning Studio, Audials, AMS Clipify), utilities (Ashampoo WinOptimizer, Backup Pro, Nexa13 utilities), productivity (Ashampoo Office, Bookkeeper, Checksoft, PDF Pro), and Mac-specific SKUs — delivered as perpetual-license Windows and Mac desktop applications. The product mix combines proprietary in-house brands with third-party reseller brands (Ashampoo, inPixio, Audials, Stellar, AMS), allowing broad SKU coverage without proportional internal R&D spend. The only disclosed AI capability is AI-powered photo upscaling embedded in the inPixio Photo Maximizer product line; the remainder of the catalog relies on traditional desktop software engineering.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market model centered on its own 24/7 e-commerce storefront at novadevelopment.com, offering instant digital downloads and physical boxed software, with phone support, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a 30% off first-order discount via newsletter signup as acquisition and trust levers. Customers are segmented horizontally across everyday consumers, small businesses, and homeowners / interior-design enthusiasts, served via one-time perpetual licenses priced roughly $29.99 to $174.99 per SKU — a model that explicitly avoids subscription fees. Distribution is split between the owned global online store and retail/physical boxed software channels. Nova Development does not offer APIs, SDKs, cloud services, or mobile applications, and the input data discloses no headcount, revenue figure, institutional funding, M&A activity, regulatory actions, or named management team. The company claims 'millions of customers worldwide' and continuous revenue growth for over two decades.

Name

Nova Development

Legal name

Nova Development

Website

https://novadevelopment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nova Development is a privately-held US consumer and small-business desktop software publisher (founded 1984, Riverside, CA; Nexa13 Group subsidiary) selling perpetual-license Windows and Mac applications — spanning print creativity, photography, home design, utilities, and productivity — directly to consumers and SMBs via its own e-commerce storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Desktop Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321)

SIC

Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Merchandise & Print-on-Demand Platforms (MPACAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Personalized & Customized Book Print-on-Demand (Variable Data, One-to-One) (MPAJANAH)

Keywords

• Consumer desktop software
• Print creativity software
• Digital photo editing
• Home design software
• Perpetual software licenses

Headquarters

HQ city

Calabasas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. One-time Software License Sales: Nova Development sells perpetual one-time software licenses for consumer desktop applications. Customers purchase a license (either digital download or physical boxed product) and own the software indefinitely without recurring subscription fees. Pricing ranges from approximately $29.99 to $174.99 per product depending on the software tier and edition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nova Development publishes and distributes consumer desktop software for Windows and Mac, sold as one-time perpetual licenses through its own online store and physical retail boxes. The catalog spans print creativity (Print Artist, Greeting Card Factory, Art Explosion, Scrapbook Factory, MyLabel), digital photography (Photo Explosion, inPixio, Ashampoo photo products), home and landscape design (Virtual Architect, Ashampoo 3D CAD), digital media (Ashampoo Burning Studio, Audials), utilities (Ashampoo Backup, WinOptimizer, security tools), and productivity (Ashampoo Office, Bookkeeper, Checksoft). Both proprietary brands and resold third-party brands (Ashampoo, inPixio, Audials, Stellar, Nexa13) are sold.

Product overview

Nova Development is a consumer software publisher founded in 1984 and headquartered in Riverside, California, operating as part of the Nexa13 Group. The company offers a diverse portfolio of consumer-grade desktop software products for PC and Mac, organized into seven main categories: Print Creativity (Art Explosion, Greeting Card Factory, MyLabel, Print Artist, Scrapbook Factory), Digital Photography (Photo Explosion, inPixio, Ashampoo Photo products), Home & Living/Home Design (Virtual Architect, Ashampoo 3D CAD), Digital Media (Ashampoo Burning Studio, Music Studio, Snap), Utilities (Ashampoo Backup, Driver Updater, WinOptimizer, security tools), Productivity (Ashampoo Office, PDF Pro, accounting software like Bookkeeper, check printing), and Mac-specific software. The products are primarily standalone consumer desktop applications sold directly through their online store, with no cloud services or API offerings. Nova Development distributes both proprietary brands (Photo Explosion, Print Artist, Virtual Architect, Art Explosion, Greeting Card Factory) and third-party Ashampoo/inPixio products as part of their software collection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Art Explosion 500,000 A comprehensive clip art collection offering 500,000+ royalty-free images including 124,000+ color photos, 200,000+ scalable vector graphics, 750+ fonts, and 12,000+ backgrounds and textures delivered on DVD or as digital download for desktop publishing and graphic design projects. Targeted at consumers and small businesses needing ready-made design assets.
• Greeting Card Factory Deluxe Greeting card creation software featuring 27,000+ cards and projects, 94,000+ graphics, 1,200+ premium fonts and text effects, and an advanced digital photo editor for creating personalized greetings, invitations, and photo projects. Aimed at home users and small businesses.
• MyLabel Designer Deluxe Label design software enabling users to create professional-quality labels with 5,000+ label formats, templates, backgrounds, a built-in photo editor, database manager, and product barcoding capabilities. Targeted at small businesses needing product and packaging labels.
• Photo Explosion Digital photo editing software providing 6,000+ photo projects, 1,500+ frames, borders, props and embellishments, one-click photo enhancement, social media sharing to Facebook, Flickr and Picasa, and panorama creation. For consumers and hobbyist photographers.
• Photo Explosion Deluxe Complete digital photo studio suite with 10,000+ photo projects, 2,000+ frames and embellishments, video editing tools, CD slideshow burning, morphing capabilities, and 3,000+ ready-made templates. For consumers and enthusiasts wanting an all-in-one photo editing suite.
• Print Artist Gold Print project software featuring 16,700+ professionally-designed templates, 277,000+ sensational graphics, 700+ premium fonts, and advanced photo editing tools for creating eye-popping print projects for home, school, or business. Aimed at consumers and small businesses.
• Print Artist Platinum Premium print project software with 28,000+ professionally-designed templates, 377,000+ graphics, 1,000+ premium fonts, and CD slideshow creation capabilities for professional-grade print materials. For users needing the broadest template and asset library.
• Virtual Architect Professional Home Design Home and landscape design software with enhanced 3D technology, wizard-driven interface, and thousands of 3D graphics for visualizing and planning home interiors, remodeling projects, and landscaping designs. Aimed at homeowners and remodeling DIYers.
• Scrapbook Factory Deluxe Digital scrapbooking software for creating lasting memories with custom layouts, hundreds of scrapbooking graphics and accents, and integration with other Nova Design print products. Aimed at home users and scrapbooking hobbyists.
• Bookkeeper 2026 Accounting and bookkeeping software for home and business financial management, part of Nova Development's productivity software suite. Targeted at small businesses and households.
• Ashampoo Office 9 Complete office productivity suite featuring word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation capabilities, distributed as part of Nova Development's productivity software collection. Aimed at home and small business users.
• Ashampoo Photo Commander 19 Photo management and editing software for organizing, editing, and sharing digital photographs, distributed within Nova Development's digital photography software category. For consumers managing photo libraries.
• Ashampoo Burning Studio 27 Disc burning and media creation software for burning CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, categorized under Nova Development's digital media software. For consumers creating physical media.
• Ashampoo Backup Pro 27 Backup and recovery software for protecting computer data, offered as part of Nova Development's utilities software category. Aimed at consumers and small businesses.
• inPixio Photo Studio 12 Pro Photo editing software with professional-grade editing tools, offered in both Standard and Pro editions within Nova Development's digital photography category. For consumers and enthusiasts needing advanced photo editing.
• Ashampoo 3D CAD Architecture 14 Professional 3D CAD software for architectural design and visualization, included in Nova Development's home and living software category. For homeowners and remodeling DIYers wanting advanced 3D planning.
• Virtual Architect Home Design For Mac Mac version of the home design software for designing homes, kitchens, bathrooms, and landscapes on Apple computers. For Mac-based homeowners and DIY remodelers.
• Marine Aquarium Deluxe Screensaver Animated aquarium screensaver software for Windows and Mac, offering realistic fish and aquatic environments. For consumers wanting entertainment/decorative desktop software.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over four decades (40+ years) of continuous operation and market presence since 1984
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Nexa13 GroupcoreOthersNova Development is part of the Nexa13 Group, which encompasses a portfolio of software brands including Nova Development, Nexa13 (with products like Nexa13 Tune-It, Nexa13 MalwareShield, Nexa13 DriverUpdater, Nexa13 iBoost, Nexa13 MobileBoost), and multiple subsidiary software publishers. The group publishes a wide range of consumer software including utilities, productivity tools, digital photography, home design, and more.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MAGIX: European consumer/SMB software publisher with strengths in photo/video editing, music, and design. Comparable to Nova Development in product categories, perpetual-license pricing model, and direct e-commerce distribution.
• Encore Software: Consumer software publisher known for Broderbund heritage brands (PrintMaster, Family Tree Maker). Highly comparable catalog mix and direct-to-consumer boxed-license distribution model.
• Corel: Publishes PaintShop Pro, CorelDRAW, VideoStudio, and other perpetual-license consumer/ prosumer desktop software. Closely comparable business model, target customer, and boxed/ESD distribution approach to Nova Development.
• Canva: Cloud-based design platform targeting non-professional creators with templates for greeting cards, social posts, labels, and print projects. Direct competitor to Nova Development's print creativity, photo, and label design suites, but operating on a freemium/SaaS model.
• Smith Micro Software: Consumer and prosumer desktop software publisher with utility, connectivity, and creative products distributed via e-commerce. Comparable customer base and perpetual-license monetization to Nova Development.
• Avanquest Software: French-headquartered consumer software publisher with overlapping catalog across utility, design, and productivity titles distributed via direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Closely comparable to Nova Development in catalog breadth and channel strategy.
• Avery Products (Design & Print Online): Avery's free Design & Print Online platform and label-focused software compete directly with Nova Development's MyLabel Designer Deluxe in the label and personalized-print category.
• Individual Software: Publisher of consumer and small-business desktop software including productivity, learning, and design titles, sold via direct-to-consumer storefront. Closely matches Nova Development's SMB/consumer focus and license-based revenue model.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe: Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements, Adobe Express, and Creative Cloud compete across Nova Development's photo editing, video, and design categories. A broad incumbent with much larger R&D budget and a subscription-first model that is pressuring legacy perpetual-license publishers.
• Microsoft: Microsoft Publisher, Office, and Designer compete across Nova Development's print creativity, productivity, and basic design categories. A broad incumbent with bundled distribution via Windows/Office that limits standalone pricing power for niche consumer publishers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nova-development-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nova Development