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Liquid AI, the startup formed by former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers to develop novel AI model architectures beyond the widely-used “Transformers“, today announced the release of LEAP aka the “Liquid Edge AI Platform,” a cross-platform software development kit (SDK) designed to make it easier for developers to integrate small language models (SLMs) directly into mobile applications.
Alongside LEAP, the company also introduced Apollo, a companion iOS app for testing these models locally, furthering Liquid AI’s mission to enable privacy-preserving, efficient AI on consumer hardware.
The LEAP SDK arrives at a time when many developers are seeking alternatives to cloud-only AI services due to concerns over latency, cost, privacy, and offline availability.
LEAP addresses those needs head-on with a local-first approach that allows small models to run directly on-device, reducing dependence on cloud infrastructure.
Built for mobile devs with no prior ML experience required
LEAP is designed for developers who want to build with AI but may not have deep expertise in machine learning.
According to Liquid AI, the SDK can be added to an iOS or Android project with just a few lines of code, and calling a local model is meant to feel as familiar as interacting with a traditional cloud API.
“Our research shows developers are moving beyond cloud-only AI and looking for trusted partners to help them build on-device,” said Ramin Hasani, co-founder and CEO of Liquid AI, in a blog post announcing the news today on Liquid’s website. “LEAP is our answer—a flexible, end-to-end deployment platform built from the ground up to make powerful, efficient, and private edge AI truly accessible.”
Once integrated, developers can select a model from the built-in LEAP model library, which includes compact models as small as 300MB — lightweight enough for modern phones with as little as 4GB of RAM (!!) and up.
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