Congratulations to Nazzy Pakpour, Lisa Jann and the Yeast Bay Bio team on taking second place at the 2026 UCLA Draper Innovation Showcase, and a $500K investment from The Draper Foundation! 🪳🧬
Yeast Bay Bio engineers baker's yeast to make RNA that targets cockroaches and nothing else. The result is a bait that can replace toxic chemical insecticides in homes, restaurants and hospitals.
We first met Nazzy at a Deep Tech Matchmaking event we hosted about a year ago. Since then the team has closed its pre-seed round, built its second generation of yeast strains, started work on other stealth initiatives, and brought on internationally renowned advisors from UC Davis, UC Berkeley, 21st.BIO, Pestec and Roche.
Nazzy is a powerhouse, Lisa is astounding, and this is a well-earned win. Proud to back this team. Go Aggies, Go Bears, and go Bruins!
Thank you to The Draper Foundation, Tim Draper, and the UCLA Anderson Price Center and Venture Accelerator for championing early science founders.
Congratulations again to Nazzy, Lisa Jann, and the whole Yeast Bay Bio team. Looking forward to many more exciting things to come!
