Our story · Updated October 2026

Built in the open.
For the families who asked.

Why Dan built Nowa, who he built it with, and exactly where it stands today. No polish, no spin.

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NOWA device engineering drawing: six part line views with dimensions and the NOWA title block
The part line drawing · from the tooling package, July 2026

Why I built Nowa

The thing I want in my own house before my son is three.

Daniel Nguyen, founder of Nowa
Daniel Nguyen · Dad and Co-founder

In June, my son was born. I've spent the last six years building AI systems for a living, and those two facts used to feel like separate lives. They aren't anymore.

I know what this technology can do. I also know what it can cost, especially to a child whose attention is still forming. Nowa comes from sitting with that tension.

Three things landed at once.

  • First: the researchers who spent forty years studying how children learn to start, focus, and follow through (Dr. Susanne Denham, Dr. Megan McClelland, Dr. Steven Kurtz, with Dr. David Mou shaping the safety framework from day one) can finally put that science into a device a six-year-old holds in one hand.
  • Second: our kids will grow up alongside it whether anyone designs it for them or not. I'd rather someone designed for them. A closed system. No open internet. No ads. Sessions that end.
  • Third: no parent I know is looking for another screen. They're looking for a few minutes back in the morning, and the sense that they're doing right by their kid.

Nowa is what I want in my own house before my son is three: a small creature he cares for, and grows up a little every day for it. This June, that stopped being an idea. The deadline has a face now.

Daniel Nguyen · Dad and Co-founder, Nowa

Production update

We're building in the open.

Nothing has shipped yet, and we won't pretend otherwise. Here is exactly where things stand, step by step.

  • Done
  • We are here
  • Coming up

  1. 01Oct 2025Done

    Product locked

    Consumer insight, competitive audit, and the core feature set confirmed with the advisory board. The what and the why of Nowa, settled.

    Early Nowa product definition on a whiteboard
    Advisory board working session

  2. 02Apr 2026Done

    Industrial design and CMF finalized

    Appearance model, materials, and finish locked. Speaker, screen, battery, scroll wheel: every key component picked. The physical Nowa is decided.

    Nowa CMF design render
    Key hardware components laid out

  3. 03May–Jul 2026Done

    Functional prototypes, in real homes

    Three working prototypes built, tested, and signed off. Units are now with a small group of families: real mornings, real bedtimes, first impressions feeding the next build.

    Pre-production prototypes, photographed July 2026: colors, materials, buttons, and screen all functional.

    A working Nowa prototype held in one hand, screen and buttons live
    A Nowa prototype standing on a living-room coffee table
    The back of a Nowa prototype: speaker grille, power button, and red scroll wheel
    Nowa prototypes on the factory floor in Shenzhen

  4. 04Aug 2026Done

    Engineering validation (EVT)

    100 units built on the same line that makes the real ones. Then we tried to break them: drops, heat and humidity, 100,000 button presses, sunscreen and cleaners. All 12 reliability tests passed. One tougher tumble test loosened the memory card, so it's now secured to the board at assembly.

    Dan's August 2026 update, and factory footage from the EVT build: inside the line where Nowa is made.

  5. 05Sep 2026Done

    Production validation (PVT)

    200 units, built as a full dress rehearsal for mass production: every station staffed, every unit checked. Testing caught a memory-card fault before a single unit left the factory. We held the shipment, found the fix, and re-checked every unit. Early units are now with families, creators, and our advisors for feedback.

    The full gameplay walkthrough, and a unit from the September build running a mission.

    A Nowa unit from the September build running a Desk Reset mission, the pet saying I'm done

  6. 06Late Sep–mid Oct 2026Done

    First production run

    Our first run of 3,000+ units, each one function-tested and played with before it was boxed. Safety and radio testing for the US is done; the last import paperwork is being filed now.

    Our first production run, on the line where every Nowa is built.

    Pallets stacked with trays of finished Nowa units on the factory floor
    A line worker checking Nowa units tray by tray

  7. 07Oct–November 2026We are here

    On the way to you

    The first lot has left the factory and is crossing to our US warehouse. The memory-card fix moved our ship date from October to November. Your pre-order is first in line.

    From Tamagotchi to Nowa: why we chose a virtual pet, October 2026.

  8. 08Nov 2026The finish line

    First units ship to families

    Pre-order families ship first. If your Nowa hasn't shipped by November 30, you're refunded automatically.

This page updates as each step lands. If a date moves, you'll read it here first.

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Be part of how this gets made.

Nowa is in stock and ships from the US. Get the device on its own, or the Adventure Bundle with its case, strap, 3 months of Nowa+ and the 3 Handbooks.

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In stock, ships from the US·Free shipping on every bundle