Summary Blog: The Future Is Predictive: Inside SOLVE’s AI Model and What’s Next for Munis

Part 2: The Future Is Predictive – Inside SOLVE’s AI Model and the Road Ahead for Munis 

 

Earlier this month, SOLVE CEO Eugene Grinberg joined Bloomberg’s Masters of the Muniverse podcast to discuss how AI is shaking up the municipal bond space. In Part 1 of our recap, we explored the company’s founding story, its growth from a four-person startup to a market leader, and how SOLVE is bringing real-time transparency to both the buy and sell sides. Now, in Part 2, we take a deeper look at the AI behind the platform, how the model performs under pressure, what sets it apart from legacy pricing tools, and what’s coming next for the Muni market as data takes center stage. 

An AI Model Built for Traders, Not Accountants 

Traditional pricing services have largely focused on helping back-offices mark books to market with consistent, explainable valuations. SOLVE took a different approach. Its AI-predictive pricing solution, SOLVE Px,  is built for the front office, specifically traders who need to understand where a bond could trade right now. By training it on actual trade prints and constantly measuring prediction accuracy, SOLVE ensures that its pricing is market-responsive and operationally useful in real time. This kind of responsiveness is invaluable in a market as fragmented as municipal bonds. 

“If the model knows where bonds should trade, we can start asking bigger questions, like where the market is broken, and where opportunity lies.” 

Stress-Tested in Real Volatility 

Any model can perform in stable markets, but the real test comes during spikes in volatility. While its median absolute error typically hovers around 5–6 basis points, even during the most volatile periods (like the disruption after the tariff announcements in the US), it only widened to 11–12 basis points. That level of accuracy, achieved across millions of predictions, proves that real-time AI models can offer stability and clarity when the market is anything but. 

Tailored for Firms at Every Stage of AI Adoption 

SOLVE’s tools are designed to serve a wide spectrum of market participants, from highly sophisticated quantitative desks to teams just starting to explore automation. Some clients feed SOLVE’s predictive pricing directly into their internal algos, using it to power smart order routing or automated bidding. Others use the model as a set of confidence guardrails, providing a reliable benchmark alongside human judgment. For less advanced firms, the model is a gateway, enabling them to leapfrog legacy systems and instantly participate in a more modern pricing framework without heavy internal development. 

Beyond Pricing: Unlocking Alpha Through Data Insight 

With its growing repository of clean, structured quote data and its team of over 100 engineers and data scientists, SOLVE is exploring ways to do more than just price bonds. The next phase involves using this data to spot trends, identify mispriced assets, and surface relative value opportunities across asset classes. Whether it’s a sector deviation from historical norms or an individual bond trading out of pattern, SOLVE is building tools that empower clients to act on information before it shows up in traditional analytics. Pricing is just the starting point—alpha is the destination. 

A Glimpse at the Next Era for Munis 

The municipal market may never mirror the liquidity or electronic structure of equities, but it’s clear that the adoption of modern tech is accelerating. SOLVE’s presence, along with the broader shift in dealerand investor behavior, suggests that the muni market is on a path toward greater efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness. As non-traditional players enter the space and more firms embrace predictive pricing tools, the legacy inefficiencies that have defined Muniland for decades are starting to erode. In the coming years, Eugene expects technology to be a central differentiator for firms looking to lead, not follow, in this evolving space. 

Check out the podcast to learn more about how SOLVE is bringing sharper data, better tools, and real-time intelligence to fixed income. 

Where to listen:

• Apple
• Bloomberg
• Spotify

About SOLVE

SOLVE is the leading market data platform provider for Fixed-Income securities, trusted by sophisticated buy-side and sell-side firms worldwide. Founded in 2011, SOLVE leverages its AI-driven technology and deep industry expertise to offer unparalleled transparency into markets, reduce risk, and save hundreds of hours across front-office workflows. With the largest real-time datasets for Securitized Products, Municipal Bonds, Corporate Bonds, Syndicated Bank Loans, Convertible Bonds, CDS, and Private Credit, SOLVE empowers clients to transform the way they bring new securities to market, trade on secondary markets, and value highly illiquid securities. Headquartered in New York, with offices across the globe, SOLVE is the definitive source for market pricing in Fixed-Income markets.