Walter Jetz, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and of the Environment at Yale, aiming to translate his research innovations to impact for species conservation, founded Merops - named after bee-eaters, a colorful group of tropical birds. The company leverages the award-winning, data-driven technology Map of Life (MOL) to address the global and local distribution of species in support of more effective conservation decision-making. Novel, integrated hardware and software solutions support the drone-based collection of visual, acoustic, and eDNA data over large areas. The technology delivers actionable biodiversity insights and is a finalist for the XPRIZE Rainforest which targeted transformative innovations for tropical biodiversity monitoring.