Liquid AI, the AI startup co-founded by robotics celebrity Daniela Russ, has raised $250 million in Series A led by AMD. The round values Liquid AI at more than $2 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Liquid AI aims to build general-purpose AI systems that leverage a relatively new type of AI model called liquid neural networks. Liquid neural networks are made up of “neurons” that are controlled by equations that predict the behavior of individual neurons over time. The “liquid” bit in the term “liquid neural network” refers to the flexibility of the architecture. Inspired by the “brain” of roundworms, this liquid neural network is not only much smaller than traditional AI models, but also requires much less computing power to run.
Liquid AI aims to develop customized liquid neural networks for applications such as e-commerce, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. As part of AMD's investment, Liquid AI says it will work with chip manufacturers to optimize its models for AMD's GPUs, CPUs, and AI accelerators.