OnshoreAI is a UK open-source inference API from Hostcomm. Every prompt is processed, and every response generated, on open-weight models running in AWS London (eu-west-2) — under UK jurisdiction, beyond the reach of US law, and at a fraction of frontier API prices.
Since Brexit the UK is a separate data-protection jurisdiction. An "EU data residency" option does not keep your data in the United Kingdom — it's a cross-border transfer. Here's how the positions actually compare for a UK buyer.
| OnshoreAI | OpenAI | Anthropic (Claude) | Google (Gemini) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company HQ & legal jurisdiction | ✓ United Kingdom | ✕ United States | ✕ United States | ✕ United States |
| Inference runs in the UK — not the EU | ✓ Always, AWS London | ✕ EU only — not the UK | ✕ US / global only | ~ Older models only; newest EU |
| Data stored at rest in the UK — not the EU | ✓ Always, AWS London | ~ UK option (Enterprise) | ✕ EU regions only — not the UK | ~ UK option (via Vertex AI) |
| Beyond reach of US CLOUD Act & FISA 702 | ✓ Yes — UK jurisdiction | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Can't be switched off by vendor or government order | ✓ Open weights on UK infra | ✕ Proprietary — vendor-controlled | ✕ 2 models pulled by US order, 2026 | ✕ Proprietary — vendor-controlled |
| You control the model version & lifecycle | ✓ Pin the version you trust | ✕ Vendor deprecates on its schedule | ✕ Vendor deprecates on its schedule | ✕ Vendor deprecates on its schedule |
| Works without enterprise tier or hyperscaler routing | ✓ Standard on every plan | ✕ New projects / Enterprise | ✕ Needs Bedrock / Vertex | ✕ Needs Google Cloud |
| Single UK DPA, ICO-registered processor | ✓ One UK DPA | ~ SCCs, US affiliates | ~ SCCs / cloud DPA | ~ Google Cloud DPA |
Based on each provider's publicly available documentation as of June 2026. UK ≠ EU: since Brexit the United Kingdom is a separate data-protection jurisdiction, so an "EU data residency" option does not keep data in the UK and constitutes a UK–EU cross-border transfer. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google offer UK or EU residency to varying degrees — typically on enterprise tiers, eligible endpoints, specific models, or via hyperscaler routing (AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI); availability varies by model and region. All three are US-incorporated and remain subject to US law, including export controls: on 12 June 2026 a US Commerce Department directive forced Anthropic to disable its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all non-US users. OnshoreAI runs open-weight models entirely in AWS London (eu-west-2) under UK jurisdiction. Verify current terms with each provider before procurement.
Open-weight models running on UK infrastructure don't just tick the sovereignty box — they're cheaper, more flexible, and outside the reach of a single vendor's roadmap or a foreign government's orders.
You pay for UK compute, not a frontier brand premium. For the high-volume, routine work that fills most pipelines, open-weight inference can be a small fraction of the price of a flagship proprietary API.
Match the model to the task — coding, extraction, classification, multilingual, vision — instead of paying flagship prices for everything. Swap or combine models without re-architecting.
Open weights run on our UK infrastructure, so no vendor decision and no foreign-government order can disable your model overnight. The model you build on is the model you keep.
There's no third-party vendor ingesting your prompts to improve a shared model. With self-hosted open weights, "your data is used to retrain the model" simply isn't a mechanism that exists.
No forced deprecations. Keep the exact model you validated for as long as your process needs it — which matters when a change means re-running a DPIA or a compliance sign-off.
Open weights and documented architectures can be inspected and written into your DPIA — no black-box third-country processor, and a clear answer when procurement asks exactly what runs where.
This isn't hypothetical. On 12 June 2026, a US Commerce Department export-control directive forced a leading US provider to disable two of its most capable models for every non-US user — UK customers included — within hours, while it worked to comply. Open-weight models you run in the UK can't be pulled out from under you that way.
OnshoreAI uses an OpenAI-compatible API, so if you've called any modern LLM you already know how this works. Most teams are getting UK-hosted responses back the same afternoon they sign up.
Sign up in the browser — no procurement call needed to start building. A UK-based team is on hand if you'd rather be walked through it.
~2 minutesCreate a key in the dashboard and pick a model — a general-purpose one, or a specialist for coding, extraction, classification or vision.
~1 minuteBecause the API is OpenAI-compatible, you just change the base URL and key. Most SDKs and frameworks need no other changes.
~5 minutesYour first call is processed in AWS London and the response never leaves the UK. Pin the model version you've validated and go.
Go liveOnshoreAI runs on infrastructure operated by Hostcomm — a UK contact-centre and telephony provider trading since 2004, already serving BT, HMRC, Scottish Power and 500+ UK organisations. The sovereignty claim is backed by certifications held for years, each independently verifiable.
Spin up a key and call a UK-hosted open-source model in minutes — or book a walkthrough of the architecture, the data-residency guarantees, and a live demo.
Covering data residency, UK GDPR, open-source vs proprietary models, model withdrawals, cost, and how OnshoreAI keeps your AI workloads on UK soil.
OnshoreAI is a UK-sovereign open-source inference API operated by Hostcomm. It runs open-weight large language models entirely in AWS London (eu-west-2), so every prompt and response stays under UK jurisdiction. It is built for UK organisations that need capable AI without sending data to the United States or the EU. Hostcomm has provided UK contact-centre and telephony services since 2004 and is PCI DSS Level 1 certified and ICO-registered.
The United Kingdom specifically — not the EU. All inference runs in AWS London (eu-west-2). Since Brexit the UK is a separate data-protection jurisdiction, so the "EU data residency" offered by other providers is not the same as keeping data in the UK — it involves a UK–EU cross-border transfer. With OnshoreAI, prompts and responses are processed and stored on UK soil and never leave it.
Yes — by architecture. Data is processed and stored only in AWS London (eu-west-2), Hostcomm is registered with the ICO as a data controller and processor, and a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available pre-contract. Because OnshoreAI is operated by a UK-incorporated company, your data is not exposed to US extraterritorial legislation such as the CLOUD Act or FISA Section 702.
Cost, control, and independence. Open-weight models running on UK infrastructure cost a fraction of flagship proprietary APIs, let you match a specialist model to each task, and cannot be switched off or deprecated out from under you. There is also no third-party vendor ingesting your prompts, so "your data trains the model" is not a mechanism that exists. For most production workloads, an open model on UK soil is cheaper and lower-risk than a US frontier API.
With open weights hosted in the UK, nothing — the model keeps running. Proprietary models are controlled by their vendor and subject to its jurisdiction. On 12 June 2026, a US Commerce Department export-control directive required a leading US provider to suspend two of its most capable models for all non-US users — the UK included — within hours. Because OnshoreAI runs open-weight models we host in the UK, no vendor decision or foreign-government order can disable the model you have built on.
No. OnshoreAI serves self-hosted open-weight models, so there is no third-party provider collecting your prompts or outputs to improve a shared model. Your inputs are used to generate your response and nothing else.
Typically a fraction of the price. You pay for UK compute rather than a frontier-brand premium, which makes the high-volume, routine work that fills most pipelines dramatically cheaper than a flagship proprietary API. Because you can match a smaller specialist model to each task, you avoid paying top-tier prices for routine calls. Talk to the team for pricing against your expected volumes.
A range of open-weight models, matched to the task. General-purpose chat and reasoning models sit alongside specialists for coding, document extraction, classification, multilingual and vision work. Because the weights are open, you can pin the exact version you have validated and keep it for as long as your process needs — with no forced deprecations.
OnshoreAI is operated by Hostcomm, a UK contact-centre and telephony provider trading since 2004 and already serving BT, HMRC, Scottish Power, HomeServe and 500+ UK organisations. Hostcomm is a PCI DSS Level 1 service provider (five years running), a Crown Commercial Service supplier listed on G-Cloud 14, registered with the ICO, and rated Excellent on Trustpilot. The sovereignty claims are backed by certifications held for years, not asserted on a trust page.
Sign up, get an API key, and call the endpoint — most teams are running in minutes. The API follows familiar conventions, so existing integrations need minimal changes, and a UK-based team can walk you through setup, model selection, and your data-residency requirements. Use "Start using OnshoreAI now" to create an account, or book a short call with the team.
Still have questions? Our UK-based team is happy to go deeper.
Talk to the team