deepset (Haystack)

German AI company behind Haystack — the open-source framework for building production RAG and agent applications

Modal

Serverless GPU compute platform for AI model training, inference, and data pipelines

deepset (Haystack)

Excellent

24/25

Modal

Caution

9/25

Score Breakdown

Dimensiondeepset (Haystack)Modal

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

deepset (Haystack): EU hosting available for managed platform. On-premises and air-gapped deployments fully supported. Open-source framework runs entirely locally with zero external data flow.

Modal: US-only infrastructure. No EU data centre options. Not suitable for GDPR personal data processing without SCCs and TIA.

5/5

EU hosting available for managed platform. On-premises and air-gapped deployments fully supported. Open-source framework runs entirely locally with zero external data flow.

1/5

US-only infrastructure. No EU data centre options. Not suitable for GDPR personal data processing without SCCs and TIA.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

deepset (Haystack): German GmbH, fully under EU law. Berlin headquarters. No US parent company. Investors include EU and US VCs but corporate governance remains German.

Modal: Delaware incorporation, US jurisdiction, CLOUD Act applies. Basic GDPR privacy documentation. No EU subsidiary.

5/5

German GmbH, fully under EU law. Berlin headquarters. No US parent company. Investors include EU and US VCs but corporate governance remains German.

2/5

Delaware incorporation, US jurisdiction, CLOUD Act applies. Basic GDPR privacy documentation. No EU subsidiary.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

deepset (Haystack): Terms restrict data use to anonymised system data only. No explicit public 'we don't train' statement, but contractual restrictions are clear. Self-hosted gives full control.

Modal: Customer compute workloads are isolated and not used for shared training. Workload outputs are customer-controlled. Data governance documentation is lighter than enterprise-focused providers.

4/5

Terms restrict data use to anonymised system data only. No explicit public 'we don't train' statement, but contractual restrictions are clear. Self-hosted gives full control.

3/5

Customer compute workloads are isolated and not used for shared training. Workload outputs are customer-controlled. Data governance documentation is lighter than enterprise-focused providers.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

deepset (Haystack): SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and CSA STAR Level 1. Comprehensive certification suite for enterprise procurement. Third-party DPO (secjur).

Modal: No published independent certifications. Developer-focused startup with self-attested security practices. Not yet suitable for regulated industry enterprise procurement.

5/5

SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and CSA STAR Level 1. Comprehensive certification suite for enterprise procurement. Third-party DPO (secjur).

1/5

No published independent certifications. Developer-focused startup with self-attested security practices. Not yet suitable for regulated industry enterprise procurement.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

deepset (Haystack): German GmbH with EU hosting, self-hosting option, and strong certifications. One of the best-positioned AI developer tools for EU regulated industries including financial services and healthcare.

Modal: Suited to AI developers and startups building non-personal-data workloads. US jurisdiction and absence of certifications limit suitability for regulated EU industries. Good for R&D and prototyping contexts.

5/5

German GmbH with EU hosting, self-hosting option, and strong certifications. One of the best-positioned AI developer tools for EU regulated industries including financial services and healthcare.

2/5

Suited to AI developers and startups building non-personal-data workloads. US jurisdiction and absence of certifications limit suitability for regulated EU industries. Good for R&D and prototyping contexts.

Total Score

24/25

9/25

Best For

deepset (Haystack)

Best for EU-headquartered organisations needing maximum data sovereignty; organisations requiring broad certification coverage (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, CSA STAR Level 1); regulated industries (BaFin, CNIL); privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; teams on a tight budget; enterprises requiring SSO integration.

Modal

Best for teams on a tight budget.

Detailed Comparison

deepset (Haystack) vs Modal: Trust & Compliance Comparison

deepset (Haystack) (deepset, DE) scores 24/25 overall with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. German AI company behind Haystack — the open-source framework for building production RAG and agent applications. Modal (Modal Labs, US) scores 9/25 with a Review Required (Caution) trust badge. Serverless GPU compute platform for AI model training, inference, and data pipelines.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

deepset (Haystack) leads with 5/5 vs 1/5.

●deepset (Haystack) (5/5): EU hosting available for managed platform. On-premises and air-gapped deployments fully supported. Open-source framework runs entirely locally with zero external data flow.

●Modal (1/5): US-only infrastructure. No EU data centre options. Not suitable for GDPR personal data processing without SCCs and TIA.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

deepset (Haystack) leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●deepset (Haystack) (5/5): German GmbH, fully under EU law. Berlin headquarters. No US parent company. Investors include EU and US VCs but corporate governance remains German.

●Modal (2/5): Delaware incorporation, US jurisdiction, CLOUD Act applies. Basic GDPR privacy documentation. No EU subsidiary.

#### Data Retention & Training

deepset (Haystack) leads with 4/5 vs 3/5.

●deepset (Haystack) (4/5): Terms restrict data use to anonymised system data only. No explicit public 'we don't train' statement, but contractual restrictions are clear. Self-hosted gives full control.

●Modal (3/5): Customer compute workloads are isolated and not used for shared training. Workload outputs are customer-controlled. Data governance documentation is lighter than enterprise-focused providers.

#### Certifications

deepset (Haystack) leads with 5/5 vs 1/5.

●deepset (Haystack) (5/5): SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and CSA STAR Level 1. Comprehensive certification suite for enterprise procurement. Third-party DPO (secjur).

●Modal (1/5): No published independent certifications. Developer-focused startup with self-attested security practices. Not yet suitable for regulated industry enterprise procurement.

#### Regulatory Fit

deepset (Haystack) leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●deepset (Haystack) (5/5): German GmbH with EU hosting, self-hosting option, and strong certifications. One of the best-positioned AI developer tools for EU regulated industries including financial services and healthcare.

●Modal (2/5): Suited to AI developers and startups building non-personal-data workloads. US jurisdiction and absence of certifications limit suitability for regulated EU industries. Good for R&D and prototyping contexts.

Certifications at a Glance

Certification	deepset (Haystack)	Modal
CSA STAR Level 1	Yes	No
ISO 27001	Yes	No
SOC 2 Type II	Yes	No

Overall Verdict

deepset (Haystack) has a clear trust advantage, scoring 24/25 compared to Modal's 9/25. deepset (Haystack) particularly excels in data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention & training, certifications, regulatory fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, deepset (Haystack) or Modal?

deepset (Haystack) has a TrustKit score of 24/25 while Modal scores 9/25. deepset (Haystack) currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do deepset (Haystack) and Modal compare on data residency?

deepset (Haystack) scores 5/5 for data residency (EU hosting available for managed platform. On-premises and air-gapped deployments fully supported. Open-source framework runs entirely locally with zero external data flow.), while Modal scores 1/5 (US-only infrastructure. No EU data centre options. Not suitable for GDPR personal data processing without SCCs and TIA.).

Are deepset (Haystack) and Modal GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. deepset (Haystack) has a regulatory fit score of 5/5 and Modal scores 2/5. Check the full comparison above for a detailed breakdown.

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