YC — Reimagining Zapier for 2026
Nova is an AI agent that learns and executes workflows across any software on your computer—including apps it has never seen before—through natural language or demonstration. Nova not only connects applications that already have cloud APIs, it also helps people control and automate the whole desktop, so anyone can build workflows across any application using any language.
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| Website | https://novatechai.tech/ |
| User survey & interview (video) | https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NNDNxvJNhKSiK3H5IQRu4VVMeUfwyzjj?usp=sharing |
| Slide deck | https://canva.link/r1t51is1wwdz4qe |
| Video Demo | https://youtu.be/wt_w_KeJC2E |
Nova is live on your desktop. On macOS, Windows, and Linux. Ready for anyone to use.
Nova ships as an Electron app: a compact voice UI, a main process for OS access, and Google Gemini Live for real-time speech, tool use, and voice output.
flowchart TB
subgraph client["Client"]
UI["UI and audio\n(Renderer)"]
Vosk["Local STT (Vosk)\n· UI feedback only"]
end
Main["Main process\n· IPC and windowing\n· file and OS APIs"]
Live["Gemini Live\n· Multilingual audio in and out\n· Tool and function calls"]
subgraph connect["Automation and services"]
Desk["Desktop and apps\n(opens, macros, system)"]
Web["Browser and search"]
G["Google: Gmail, Calendar, Contacts\n(OAuth)"]
Media["Video, image, notes, code tools"]
end
Mem["Backboard (optional)\n· Persistent user memory and RAG"]
UI -->|PCM, IPC| Main
Vosk -.-> UI
Main <-->|WebSocket, tools| Live
Live --> Desk
Live --> Web
Live --> G
Live --> Media
Main <--> Mem
Live -->|system context| Mem
| Layer | Role |
|---|---|
| Renderer | Microphone, playback, orb UI; local transcript (Vosk) is for display—Gemini still receives raw audio for understanding. |
| Main | Security-sensitive work: file paths, process launch, windowing, and the bridge to Gemini Live in the main process. |
| Gemini Live | End-to-end voice: intent, tool calls into desktop, browser, and Google-integrated features, then spoken replies. |
| Backboard (optional) | Long-term memory and semantic recall so user context persists across sessions. |
cd robot-widget
npm install
npm run start| Google (email, calendar, contacts) | In robot-widget/: npm run setup-google (one-time OAuth). |
| Environment | Copy robot-widget/.env.example → robot-widget/.env. Set at least GEMINI_API_KEY. For persistent memory, add BACKBOARD_API_KEY. |
| macOS / Windows | If the default start script includes Linux-only flags, adjust package.json for your platform. |