LightOn

Sovereign enterprise GenAI platform deployed on-prem, air-gapped, or EU cloud

Groq

Ultra-fast LPU inference for open-source LLMs at developer-friendly pricing

LightOn

Excellent

22/25

Groq

Caution

10/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionLightOnGroq

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

LightOn: Deploys on-premise, in customer VPC, or air-gapped on EU infrastructure, so data never leaves the customer's own security perimeter. Strongest possible residency posture.

Groq: All inference processed in US data centres. No EU data residency option available as of early 2026. European businesses processing personal data via the Groq API must implement GDPR transfer mechanisms.

5/5

Deploys on-premise, in customer VPC, or air-gapped on EU infrastructure, so data never leaves the customer's own security perimeter. Strongest possible residency posture.

1/5

All inference processed in US data centres. No EU data residency option available as of early 2026. European businesses processing personal data via the Groq API must implement GDPR transfer mechanisms.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

LightOn: French SA incorporated in France, listed on Euronext Growth Paris, with no US parent. Fully under EU/French jurisdiction.

Groq: Groq Inc. incorporated in California, subject to US law including the CLOUD Act. GDPR-compliant DPA available contractually, but US legal jurisdiction is the governing framework. No EU parent company or subsidiary structure.

5/5

French SA incorporated in France, listed on Euronext Growth Paris, with no US parent. Fully under EU/French jurisdiction.

2/5

Groq Inc. incorporated in California, subject to US law including the CLOUD Act. GDPR-compliant DPA available contractually, but US legal jurisdiction is the governing framework. No EU parent company or subsidiary structure.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

LightOn: In-perimeter deployment means no customer data is sent out or used to train shared models, and retention is governed by the customer's own infrastructure. Scored 4 rather than 5 as public DPA/retention-control documentation is limited.

Groq: Groq's privacy policy states that inference request data is not used for model training. Minimal data retention for API calls. Suitable for non-personal-data inference use cases; personal data processing requires GDPR transfer mechanism.

4/5

In-perimeter deployment means no customer data is sent out or used to train shared models, and retention is governed by the customer's own infrastructure. Scored 4 rather than 5 as public DPA/retention-control documentation is limited.

4/5

Groq's privacy policy states that inference request data is not used for model training. Minimal data retention for API calls. Suitable for non-personal-data inference use cases; personal data processing requires GDPR transfer mechanism.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

LightOn: Holds SOC 2 Type 1. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II are not confirmed in published sources, and ANSSI SecNumCloud appears to be a positioning goal rather than a confirmed qualification.

Groq: No published ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, or other independent security certifications as of early 2026. Privacy and security practices are self-attested. This is a significant gap for enterprise procurement in regulated industries.

3/5

Holds SOC 2 Type 1. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II are not confirmed in published sources, and ANSSI SecNumCloud appears to be a positioning goal rather than a confirmed qualification.

1/5

No published ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, or other independent security certifications as of early 2026. Privacy and security practices are self-attested. This is a significant gap for enterprise procurement in regulated industries.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

LightOn: Purpose-built for regulated and sovereign EU buyers, with public-sector and defense/aerospace references (CNES, Safran, French tax authority) and GDPR/AI Act alignment.

Groq: Not suitable for GDPR-regulated personal data processing without appropriate SCCs and transfer impact assessment. Good option for non-personal-data use cases (e.g., inference on internal documents with no personal data). Not recommended for regulated EU industries without significant additional controls.

5/5

Purpose-built for regulated and sovereign EU buyers, with public-sector and defense/aerospace references (CNES, Safran, French tax authority) and GDPR/AI Act alignment.

2/5

Not suitable for GDPR-regulated personal data processing without appropriate SCCs and transfer impact assessment. Good option for non-personal-data use cases (e.g., inference on internal documents with no personal data). Not recommended for regulated EU industries without significant additional controls.

Total Score

22/25

10/25

Best For

LightOn

Best for privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; teams on a tight budget.

Groq

Best for EU-headquartered organisations needing maximum data sovereignty; regulated industries (CNIL, AMF); privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; enterprises requiring SSO integration.

Detailed Comparison

Groq vs LightOn: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Groq (Groq, US) scores 10/25 overall with a Review Required (Caution) trust badge. Ultra-fast LPU inference for open-source LLMs at developer-friendly pricing. LightOn (LightOn, FR) scores 22/25 with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. Sovereign enterprise GenAI platform deployed on-prem, air-gapped, or EU cloud.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

LightOn leads with 5/5 vs 1/5.

●Groq (1/5): All inference processed in US data centres. No EU data residency option available as of early 2026. European businesses processing personal data via the Groq API must implement GDPR transfer mechanisms.

●LightOn (5/5): Deploys on-premise, in customer VPC, or air-gapped on EU infrastructure, so data never leaves the customer's own security perimeter. Strongest possible residency posture.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

LightOn leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●Groq (2/5): Groq Inc. incorporated in California, subject to US law including the CLOUD Act. GDPR-compliant DPA available contractually, but US legal jurisdiction is the governing framework. No EU parent company or subsidiary structure.

●LightOn (5/5): French SA incorporated in France, listed on Euronext Growth Paris, with no US parent. Fully under EU/French jurisdiction.

#### Data Retention & Training

Both score equally at 4/5.

●Groq (4/5): Groq's privacy policy states that inference request data is not used for model training. Minimal data retention for API calls. Suitable for non-personal-data inference use cases; personal data processing requires GDPR transfer mechanism.

●LightOn (4/5): In-perimeter deployment means no customer data is sent out or used to train shared models, and retention is governed by the customer's own infrastructure. Scored 4 rather than 5 as public DPA/retention-control documentation is limited.

#### Certifications

LightOn leads with 3/5 vs 1/5.

●Groq (1/5): No published ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, or other independent security certifications as of early 2026. Privacy and security practices are self-attested. This is a significant gap for enterprise procurement in regulated industries.

●LightOn (3/5): Holds SOC 2 Type 1. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II are not confirmed in published sources, and ANSSI SecNumCloud appears to be a positioning goal rather than a confirmed qualification.

#### Regulatory Fit

LightOn leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●Groq (2/5): Not suitable for GDPR-regulated personal data processing without appropriate SCCs and transfer impact assessment. Good option for non-personal-data use cases (e.g., inference on internal documents with no personal data). Not recommended for regulated EU industries without significant additional controls.

●LightOn (5/5): Purpose-built for regulated and sovereign EU buyers, with public-sector and defense/aerospace references (CNES, Safran, French tax authority) and GDPR/AI Act alignment.

Certifications at a Glance

Certification	Groq	LightOn
SOC 2 Type 1	No	Yes

Overall Verdict

LightOn has a clear trust advantage, scoring 22/25 compared to Groq's 10/25. LightOn particularly excels in data residency, legal jurisdiction, certifications, regulatory fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, LightOn or Groq?

LightOn has a TrustKit score of 22/25 while Groq scores 10/25. LightOn currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do LightOn and Groq compare on data residency?

LightOn scores 5/5 for data residency (Deploys on-premise, in customer VPC, or air-gapped on EU infrastructure, so data never leaves the customer's own security perimeter. Strongest possible residency posture.), while Groq scores 1/5 (All inference processed in US data centres. No EU data residency option available as of early 2026. European businesses processing personal data via the Groq API must implement GDPR transfer mechanisms.).

Are LightOn and Groq GDPR compliant?

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

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