Noxtua

Europe's sovereign legal AI with its own European-trained legal LLM

Exa

AI-native search API that understands meaning, not just keywords

Noxtua

Excellent

25/25

Exa

Caution

10/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionNoxtuaExa

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

Noxtua: Processing occurs exclusively on European infrastructure (Open Telekom Cloud by Deutsche Telekom and IONOS) with no connection to US cloud providers, plus an on-premise deployment option. Best-in-class EU data residency.

Exa: US-based infrastructure. No EU hosting option. Indexes public web content.

5/5

Processing occurs exclusively on European infrastructure (Open Telekom Cloud by Deutsche Telekom and IONOS) with no connection to US cloud providers, plus an on-premise deployment option. Best-in-class EU data residency.

2/5

US-based infrastructure. No EU hosting option. Indexes public web content.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

Noxtua: Incorporated in Germany as Noxtua SE (formerly Xayn AG), an EU/EEA entity with no US parent. Designed to meet German professional-secrecy law (§ 43e BRAO, § 203 StGB).

Exa: US Delaware corporation. Subject to US jurisdiction. Early-stage company with standard US privacy practices.

5/5

Incorporated in Germany as Noxtua SE (formerly Xayn AG), an EU/EEA entity with no US parent. Designed to meet German professional-secrecy law (§ 43e BRAO, § 203 StGB).

2/5

US Delaware corporation. Subject to US jurisdiction. Early-stage company with standard US privacy practices.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

Noxtua: Explicitly states customer data is never used to train, retrain or improve AI models, with sovereign/on-premise deployment and enterprise DPA-level controls. Specific configurable retention windows are not publicly detailed but the no-training and isolation posture is strong.

Exa: Search queries logged for service improvement. No customer data used for training proprietary search models. API usage logs retained per standard practices.

5/5

Explicitly states customer data is never used to train, retrain or improve AI models, with sovereign/on-premise deployment and enterprise DPA-level controls. Specific configurable retention windows are not publicly detailed but the no-training and isolation posture is strong.

3/5

Search queries logged for service improvement. No customer data used for training proprietary search models. API usage logs retained per standard practices.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

Noxtua: Extensive published certification stack: ISO 42001 (first German company), ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, 9001, plus BSI C5 and TISAX. No SOC 2 (US-oriented), but European sector and AI-specific certifications exceed the baseline.

Exa: No security certifications publicly disclosed. Early-stage startup focused on product development.

5/5

Extensive published certification stack: ISO 42001 (first German company), ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, 9001, plus BSI C5 and TISAX. No SOC 2 (US-oriented), but European sector and AI-specific certifications exceed the baseline.

1/5

No security certifications publicly disclosed. Early-stage startup focused on product development.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

Noxtua: Purpose-built for regulated EU legal work, explicitly meeting attorney confidentiality and professional-secrecy requirements, with backing from major law firms and legal publishers. Suitable for the most demanding EU regulated legal and public-sector use.

Exa: Developer tool for search functionality. Regulatory fit depends on the application built on top. Not suitable for handling sensitive data directly.

5/5

Purpose-built for regulated EU legal work, explicitly meeting attorney confidentiality and professional-secrecy requirements, with backing from major law firms and legal publishers. Suitable for the most demanding EU regulated legal and public-sector use.

2/5

Developer tool for search functionality. Regulatory fit depends on the application built on top. Not suitable for handling sensitive data directly.

Total Score

25/25

10/25

Best For

Noxtua

Best for teams on a tight budget.

Exa

Best for EU-headquartered organisations needing maximum data sovereignty; organisations requiring broad certification coverage (ISO 42001, ISO 27001, ISO 27017); regulated industries (BfDI, BaFin); privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; enterprises requiring SSO integration.

Detailed Comparison

Exa vs Noxtua: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Exa (Exa, US) scores 10/25 overall with a Review Required (Caution) trust badge. AI-native search API that understands meaning, not just keywords. Noxtua (Noxtua, DE) scores 25/25 with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. Europe's sovereign legal AI with its own European-trained legal LLM.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

Noxtua leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●Exa (2/5): US-based infrastructure. No EU hosting option. Indexes public web content.

●Noxtua (5/5): Processing occurs exclusively on European infrastructure (Open Telekom Cloud by Deutsche Telekom and IONOS) with no connection to US cloud providers, plus an on-premise deployment option. Best-in-class EU data residency.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

Noxtua leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●Exa (2/5): US Delaware corporation. Subject to US jurisdiction. Early-stage company with standard US privacy practices.

●Noxtua (5/5): Incorporated in Germany as Noxtua SE (formerly Xayn AG), an EU/EEA entity with no US parent. Designed to meet German professional-secrecy law (§ 43e BRAO, § 203 StGB).

#### Data Retention & Training

Noxtua leads with 5/5 vs 3/5.

●Exa (3/5): Search queries logged for service improvement. No customer data used for training proprietary search models. API usage logs retained per standard practices.

●Noxtua (5/5): Explicitly states customer data is never used to train, retrain or improve AI models, with sovereign/on-premise deployment and enterprise DPA-level controls. Specific configurable retention windows are not publicly detailed but the no-training and isolation posture is strong.

#### Certifications

Noxtua leads with 5/5 vs 1/5.

●Exa (1/5): No security certifications publicly disclosed. Early-stage startup focused on product development.

●Noxtua (5/5): Extensive published certification stack: ISO 42001 (first German company), ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, 9001, plus BSI C5 and TISAX. No SOC 2 (US-oriented), but European sector and AI-specific certifications exceed the baseline.

#### Regulatory Fit

Noxtua leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●Exa (2/5): Developer tool for search functionality. Regulatory fit depends on the application built on top. Not suitable for handling sensitive data directly.

●Noxtua (5/5): Purpose-built for regulated EU legal work, explicitly meeting attorney confidentiality and professional-secrecy requirements, with backing from major law firms and legal publishers. Suitable for the most demanding EU regulated legal and public-sector use.

Certifications at a Glance

Certification	Exa	Noxtua
BSI C5	No	Yes
ISO 27001	No	Yes
ISO 27017	No	Yes
ISO 27018	No	Yes
ISO 42001	No	Yes
ISO 9001	No	Yes
TISAX	No	Yes

Overall Verdict

Noxtua has a clear trust advantage, scoring 25/25 compared to Exa's 10/25. Noxtua particularly excels in data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention & training, certifications, regulatory fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, Noxtua or Exa?

Noxtua has a TrustKit score of 25/25 while Exa scores 10/25. Noxtua currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do Noxtua and Exa compare on data residency?

Noxtua scores 5/5 for data residency (Processing occurs exclusively on European infrastructure (Open Telekom Cloud by Deutsche Telekom and IONOS) with no connection to US cloud providers, plus an on-premise deployment option. Best-in-class EU data residency.), while Exa scores 2/5 (US-based infrastructure. No EU hosting option. Indexes public web content.).

Are Noxtua and Exa GDPR compliant?

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

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