Nicolas Schmidt

Principal, Philadelphia

Nicholas Schmidt is a Partner and Artificial Intelligence Practice Leader at BLDS, LLC, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm. He specializes in applying statistics and economics to legal, regulatory compliance, and model governance issues. Nick has developed AI-based techniques to minimize disparate impact in credit, insurance, and marketing models. As CEO of SolasAI, he led the creation of a compliance-focused software platform that identifies and mitigates bias in algorithmic decision-making.

Nick’s expertise lies in algorithmic fairness, explainable AI, and robust model governance practices. He frequently writes and speaks on AI benefits, risks, and methods for creating fairer machine learning algorithms. His work is utilized by prominent consumer lenders, FinTech companies, and insurers to achieve equitable outcomes for customers.

Nick holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in econometrics, statistics, and finance. He also earned a B.S. in Economics with High Honors from George Mason University.