By Molly Callaghan | Albuquerque Business First | July 21, 2025
Albuquerque-headquartered YEEO Eco-Safe is focused on commercializing its environmentally friendly technology which can control disease-bearing and agriculture-damaging insects.
The company’s patented product is based on yeast-encapsulated essential oils (YEEO), which bait mosquito larvae into eating them and dying, reducing the insect’s population density.
The company’s CEO and founder, Kevin Pope, is an environmental scientist with more than 40 years of experience in research, regulatory programs and technology development and commercialization.
Pope originally planned to headquarter the company in Florida, where his connections are and where there are mosquito control districts and a big market for the technology.
However, he said when he visited Albuquerque and met people here, he felt the community was very supportive of small new businesses and especially hard tech businesses making a physical product.
“The New Mexico Economic Development Department gave us a $250,000 grant that got us started, and I thought, ‘No, this has to stay in New Mexico,’” he said.
YEEO is now headquartered in Albuquerque at the BioScience Center, located at 5901 Indian School Road NE.
The company has almost reached its seed round goal, with a target of $1.25 million. Most of the company’s investment has come from entities in New Mexico.
The company’s seed round includes lead investor Tramway Ventures, and the New Mexico Angels, the New Mexico Vintage Fund and the UNM Rainforest and other support from the New Mexico Community.