Scaleway
French cloud platform with compute, storage and AI services — a European alternative to AWS.
Overview
Scaleway is a Paris, France-based European company building cloud infrastructure and developer tools software since 1999. As an EU-headquartered provider, Scaleway operates under GDPR and is outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act, making it a privacy-friendly alternative to AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure for European teams.
Why European teams pick Scaleway
Teams in Europe pick Scaleway when they want a cloud infrastructure provider that bills in EUR, supports their local data-protection officer requirements, and keeps customer data under France law, operating since 1999. Compared with AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure, Scaleway avoids cross-border data transfers under Schrems II and the US CLOUD Act, which is often the deciding factor for European procurement and legal teams.
See more EU cloud infrastructure tools or browse other startups from France.
About
Scaleway is a French cloud provider owned by the Iliad Group, one of France's largest telecoms companies, offering a full-stack IaaS and PaaS platform across Paris, Amsterdam, and Warsaw. Its product range covers compute instances, managed Kubernetes (Kapsule), serverless functions and containers, managed PostgreSQL and MySQL databases, and S3-compatible Object Storage — all under EU jurisdiction. Scaleway is a founding member of the GAIA-X initiative for European cloud sovereignty and offers transparent, usage-based pricing comparable to AWS. Its developer experience — a clean console, well-documented APIs, and Terraform provider — makes it the go-to choice for cloud-native EU teams building containerised applications.
Details
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- Paris, France
Categories
Other EU startups like Scaleway
- FjordIDNorway — Managed OIDC/OAuth2 identity platform hosted on Hetzner in Germany. Drop-in Auth0 replacement with EU data residency and zero US subprocessors.
- RailwayUnited Kingdom — Instant deployment infrastructure for developers — popular across European teams.
- LiveblocksFrance — APIs for adding collaborative real-time features to your app — a French alternative to Firebase Realtime.
- PocketbaseBulgaria — Open-source backend in a single file — a European alternative to Firebase.
- NocoDBGermany — Open-source Airtable alternative that turns databases into smart spreadsheets.
- PortainerNew Zealand — Container management UI for Docker and Kubernetes — a New Zealand/European alternative to Rancher.
Frequently asked questions
What is Scaleway?
Scaleway is a French cloud provider owned by the Iliad Group, one of France's largest telecoms companies, offering a full-stack IaaS and PaaS platform across Paris, Amsterdam, and Warsaw. Its product range covers compute instances, managed Kubernetes (Kapsule), serverless functions and containers, managed PostgreSQL and MySQL databases, and S3-compatible Object Storage — all under EU jurisdiction. Scaleway is a founding member of the GAIA-X initiative for European cloud sovereignty and offers transparent, usage-based pricing comparable to AWS. Its developer experience — a clean console, well-documented APIs, and Terraform provider — makes it the go-to choice for cloud-native EU teams building containerised applications.
What does Scaleway do?
Scaleway is french cloud platform with compute, storage and ai services — a european alternative to aws. It is listed under cloud infrastructure and developer tools on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European cloud infrastructure tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.
Is Scaleway a good European cloud infrastructure alternative?
Scaleway is a fit for European businesses evaluating cloud infrastructure options where data residency and GDPR alignment matter — typical buyers include EU-based SaaS teams, public-sector projects, regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), and any organisation that needs to demonstrate that customer data does not leave the EU. It also overlaps with developer tools use cases.
Is Scaleway GDPR compliant?
Scaleway is headquartered in Paris, France and falls under EU jurisdiction, so it processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL). Because the company is not US-incorporated, it is not subject to the US CLOUD Act — meaning US authorities cannot compel Scaleway to disclose customer data the way they can with AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. For European buyers, that often simplifies DPIA paperwork and standard contractual clauses.
How do teams switch from AWS to Scaleway?
Most teams move to Scaleway from AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure because they want EU data residency without giving up the core cloud infrastructure workflow. Scaleway's France base means a single jurisdiction for both the company and (typically) its hosting infrastructure, so you can drop Schrems II transfer impact assessments for this part of your stack. Plan the migration in stages: export your data from the US incumbent, pilot Scaleway with a small team, then move the rest once the integration coverage you need is confirmed.
Where is Scaleway based?
Scaleway is headquartered in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1999. Its main website is https://www.scaleway.com.