How about 'come up with'?

You could use "discover" or "create" as well

And what about software? Can I use 'develop' or 'desing'?

Thank you.

Or 'create', 'conceive of' (usually for ideas), 'discover', 'formulate', 'develop' (for items only), 'design' (for items only), fabricate (more literally means 'to make', so should be for items only), 'devise' and 'pioneer' (usually used for a groundbreaking discovery; i.e. "Steve Jobs and Bill Gates pioneered personal computers."). Hope that helps.