Where to run private AI in Switzerland: Swiss GPU clouds, shared models and your own servers
Your IT provider says the AI runs "in Switzerland". The machines are in Zurich; the company that runs them answers to US courts. What does "in Switzerland" really cover?
The short answer: private AI can run in four places here: shared open models behind a Swiss API, for pilots and routine work; a graphics card reserved for you in a Swiss cloud; a provider's own servers; or your servers, at your premises. Meow counted ten Swiss companies renting graphics cards in Swiss data centres. What matters is who runs them, under which law, and whether the card fits your model, and all three can be checked before you sign.
Checked against the law on 30 September 2026
Whose server is it?
- Swiss region, US law
Under the US CLOUD Act, a provider subject to US jurisdiction can be compelled to hand over data in its possession, custody or control, even when it is stored in Switzerland. A Swiss region of a US cloud stays within that reach; for any provider, ask who controls the data.
- Your processor
Whoever runs the AI for you processes data on your behalf: you must make sure they can guarantee data security, and they may hand the work to a third party only with your prior authorisation (FADP, art. 9).
- ×2, ×5, ×10
How much GPU, SSD and RAM purchase prices rose, according to cloudscale, which raised its GPU server prices from 1 September 2026. Rent a card for the test before buying one.
How to choose
0 of 8 checked
Which tasks, how many documents a day, how fast: that sets the size of the card.
Shared models for pilots and routine work; a card reserved for you for client files; your premises when nothing may leave the building.
The company, its parent group, and whether a US parent or US business could bring its data within US reach.
Which data centres, and who operates the buildings.
Who else touches the data: support, backups, monitoring. Each one needs your prior authorisation.
A processing agreement that covers AI requests: logs, how long they're kept, and no training on your data.
Memory decides which model fits: the Meow Academy's planner shows it before you rent.
Rent a card for the test, measure on your own documents, then decide to keep renting or buy.
Ticked them all? The kit turns this into a choice you can make next week: ten Swiss providers and what each offers, the questions to ask them, the test plan, and what to count before sizing a server. Get the kit
Ten Swiss providers, and what each offers
The kit compares ten Swiss providers. Two of them:
- cloudscale.ch
- RTX PRO 6000 cards with 96 GB, one to four per server; GPU server prices up from 1 September 2026.
- Infomaniak
- T4, A2, L4, L40S and A100 80 GB, on request; also shared open models behind an API compatible with OpenAI's.
- Exoscale
- In the kit
- Phoenix Systems (kvant)
- In the kit
- Swisscom
- In the kit
- Hikube (Hidora)
- In the kit
Why a Swiss provider
A Swiss company in Swiss data centres works under Swiss law, though a foreign parent or US business can still matter: ask. Processing in Switzerland also keeps you clear of the rules on disclosing personal data abroad (FADP, arts. 16 and 17), as long as support, backups and monitoring stay in Switzerland too.
What it needs
The model's size decides the card: an 8B model runs on one server card, and larger ones need more memory. The Meow Academy's planner shows which models fit on which cards before you rent one.
AcademyChoosing hardwareAcademySize a model against hardware
Where does your firm stand?
The self-check takes two minutes and says which first step fits. Or talk it through in a free 15-minute call.
Book a free 15‑minute call
Pick a time that suits you and confirm it from your inbox. If the time no longer works on our side, you hear from us the same working day.
What happens in 15 minutes
- 0–5 min
Your situation
What AI should do for you, and what it must never see.
- 5–10 min
What's possible
Which tasks can run privately, roughly what it costs, and what should stay human.
- 10–15 min
The next step
A test on your own documents, an assessment, or nothing yet.
Prefer to write? Send a message
Tell us what you'd like AI to do, and what it must never see. We'll tell you honestly what's possible, what it costs and what should stay human. No details yet? A hello is enough.