Modal

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

Nscale

European AI hyperscaler with sovereign GPU cloud infrastructure in Norway and UK

Modal

Caution

9/25

Nscale

Strong

17/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionModalNscale

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

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

Nscale: Norwegian data centres offer EEA data residency with renewable hydropower. UK facilities planned. Customer workloads stay on Nscale infrastructure. Norway option provides strong EU data residency.

1/5

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

4/5

Norwegian data centres offer EEA data residency with renewable hydropower. UK facilities planned. Customer workloads stay on Nscale infrastructure. Norway option provides strong EU data residency.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

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

Nscale: UK incorporation provides GDPR adequacy but UK CLOUD Act equivalent (Investigatory Powers Act) applies. Norwegian data centres under EEA law offer stronger protection for EU workloads.

2/5

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

3/5

UK incorporation provides GDPR adequacy but UK CLOUD Act equivalent (Investigatory Powers Act) applies. Norwegian data centres under EEA law offer stronger protection for EU workloads.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

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.

Nscale: Infrastructure provider only—Nscale does not access, process, or retain customer workload data. Customers have full control over their compute environments.

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.

5/5

Infrastructure provider only—Nscale does not access, process, or retain customer workload data. Customers have full control over their compute environments.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

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

Nscale: No publicly listed certifications yet. Expected for a fast-growing infrastructure company at this stage. Data centre certifications likely in progress.

1/5

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

2/5

No publicly listed certifications yet. Expected for a fast-growing infrastructure company at this stage. Data centre certifications likely in progress.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

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.

Nscale: Strong for organisations needing European GPU compute sovereignty. Norwegian facilities particularly suitable for EU regulated workloads. UK incorporation is adequate but not optimal for strict EU sovereignty requirements.

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.

3/5

Strong for organisations needing European GPU compute sovereignty. Norwegian facilities particularly suitable for EU regulated workloads. UK incorporation is adequate but not optimal for strict EU sovereignty requirements.

Total Score

9/25

17/25

Best For

Modal

Best for teams on a tight budget.

Nscale

Best for privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; enterprises requiring SSO integration.

Detailed Comparison

Modal vs Nscale: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Modal (Modal Labs, US) scores 9/25 overall with a Review Required (Caution) trust badge. Serverless GPU compute platform for AI model training, inference, and data pipelines. Nscale (Nscale, GB) scores 17/25 with a Silver (Strong) trust badge. European AI hyperscaler with sovereign GPU cloud infrastructure in Norway and UK.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

Nscale leads with 4/5 vs 1/5.

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

●Nscale (4/5): Norwegian data centres offer EEA data residency with renewable hydropower. UK facilities planned. Customer workloads stay on Nscale infrastructure. Norway option provides strong EU data residency.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

Nscale leads with 3/5 vs 2/5.

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

●Nscale (3/5): UK incorporation provides GDPR adequacy but UK CLOUD Act equivalent (Investigatory Powers Act) applies. Norwegian data centres under EEA law offer stronger protection for EU workloads.

#### Data Retention & Training

Nscale leads with 5/5 vs 3/5.

●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.

●Nscale (5/5): Infrastructure provider only—Nscale does not access, process, or retain customer workload data. Customers have full control over their compute environments.

#### Certifications

Nscale leads with 2/5 vs 1/5.

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

●Nscale (2/5): No publicly listed certifications yet. Expected for a fast-growing infrastructure company at this stage. Data centre certifications likely in progress.

#### Regulatory Fit

Nscale leads with 3/5 vs 2/5.

●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.

●Nscale (3/5): Strong for organisations needing European GPU compute sovereignty. Norwegian facilities particularly suitable for EU regulated workloads. UK incorporation is adequate but not optimal for strict EU sovereignty requirements.

Overall Verdict

Nscale has a clear trust advantage, scoring 17/25 compared to Modal's 9/25. Nscale particularly excels in data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention & training, certifications, regulatory fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, Modal or Nscale?

Modal has a TrustKit score of 9/25 while Nscale scores 17/25. Nscale currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do Modal and Nscale compare on data residency?

Modal scores 1/5 for data residency (US-only infrastructure. No EU data centre options. Not suitable for GDPR personal data processing without SCCs and TIA.), while Nscale scores 4/5 (Norwegian data centres offer EEA data residency with renewable hydropower. UK facilities planned. Customer workloads stay on Nscale infrastructure. Norway option provides strong EU data residency.).

Are Modal and Nscale GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. Modal has a regulatory fit score of 2/5 and Nscale scores 3/5. Check the full comparison above for a detailed breakdown.

Explore Each Tool