https://www.howtogeek.com/nova-launcher-has-a-new-owner-but-its-not-looking-good/
Nova Launcher has been acquired and resurrected, new versions will be rolling out with updates, bug-fixes and..... advertisements.
Yup, it sucks, not only are ads already showing up in the free version, but a dig through the code has revealed a lot of extra callbacks to Facebook & Google for ads and other services