Local AI from Germany for beginners. A practical guide, requested by many in the previous Dr. DSGVO survey.
Transparency notice: This article is not a sponsored post. There is no business or editorial arrangement of any kind with Mittwald. The assessments expressed here are solely the author's opinion, based on publicly available information.
Anyone who wants to build AI-powered applications today seems to face an uncomfortable trade-off: performance on one side, data protection on the other. ChatGPT, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini – the market leaders are based in the US, process data on servers subject to US law, and leave behind data protection question marks that are a real problem for many companies and public authorities.
For some time now, the German web host Mittwald has offered, with its AI Hosting product, an alternative that deserves serious consideration for a large share of use cases. This article takes a sober look at the offer – with its real strengths and its clear limits.
What is Mittwald AI hosting?
Mittwald is a hosting provider based in Espelkamp, Westphalia, that has been regarded for decades as a reliable partner for agencies and developers. With AI Hosting, the company has offered access since early 2026 to powerful open-source language models via an OpenAI-compatible API – hosted exclusively in Germany, with no detours through US or Irish data centres.




My name is Klaus Meffert. I have a doctorate in computer science and have been working professionally and practically with information technology for over 30 years. I also work as an expert in IT & data protection. I achieve my results by looking at technology and law. This seems absolutely essential to me when it comes to digital data protection. My company, IT Logic GmbH, also offers consulting and development of optimized and secure AI solutions.
