He wanted to build technology for Mars. Told it was ‘not possible’ in India, he named his startup NoPo and now makes materials for space, batteries and electronics

Gadhadar Reddy’s childhood dream of reaching Mars led him to explore carbon nanotubes as a way to make future spacecraft lighter and stronger. In 2011, he co-founded Bengaluru-based NoPo Nanotechnologies after being told industrial production of the advanced material was “not possible” in India. Fifteen years later, NoPo is scaling up single-walled carbon nanotube production for potential applications in batteries, semiconductors, electronics and advanced materials, turning an ambitious space dream into a deep-tech manufacturing venture.