(Reuters) - Generative artificial intelligence startup Liquid AI said on Friday that it had closed a $250 million early-stage funding round led by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, which is also its strategic partner.

Consumer GenAI, which captured global attention in 2022 with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, is at the center of the rapidly growing AI sector. This year also saw investors funnelling billions of dollars into GenAI startups.

Liquid AI develops Liquid Foundation Models (LFMs), which it claims are smaller, more efficient AI models for enterprise use, compared to traditional cloud-based offerings from OpenAI, AWS and Google Cloud.

The strategic partnership with AMD will help the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup to optimize LFMs with AMD's graphic, central and neural processing units.

The funding will also help Liquid AI scale infrastructure and develop tailored LFMs for industries such as consumer electronics, biotechnology, telecommunications, financial services and e-commerce.

(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)