Zest, which has now raised more than $87 million in venture capital to date, claims its machine learning models can reduce racial bias in lending algorithms.
In 2018, 18.4% of mortgage applications by Black Americans were denied, compared with 13.5% for Hispanic applicants, 10.6% for Asian applicants and 8.8% for non-Hispanic white applicants, according to the U.S. Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.