LightOn

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

Modal

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

LightOn

Excellent

22/25

Modal

Caution

9/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionLightOnModal

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.

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

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

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?

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

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

5/5

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

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?

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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

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.

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

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

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

22/25

9/25

Best For

LightOn

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.

Modal

Best for teams on a tight budget.

Detailed Comparison

LightOn vs Modal: Trust & Compliance Comparison

LightOn (LightOn, FR) scores 22/25 overall with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. Sovereign enterprise GenAI platform deployed on-prem, air-gapped, or EU cloud. 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

LightOn leads with 5/5 vs 1/5.

●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.

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

#### Legal Jurisdiction

LightOn leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

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

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

#### Data Retention & Training

LightOn leads with 4/5 vs 3/5.

●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.

●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

LightOn leads with 3/5 vs 1/5.

●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.

●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

LightOn leads with 5/5 vs 2/5.

●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.

●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	LightOn	Modal
SOC 2 Type 1	Yes	No

Overall Verdict

LightOn has a clear trust advantage, scoring 22/25 compared to Modal's 9/25. LightOn particularly excels in data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention & training, certifications, regulatory fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, LightOn or Modal?

LightOn has a TrustKit score of 22/25 while Modal scores 9/25. LightOn currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

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

Are LightOn and Modal GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. LightOn 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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