Atmel Corporation was a prominent American semiconductor company specializing in microcontrollers (MCUs), touch solutions, and secure ICs, widely used in embedded systems. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Atmel became a key player in the 8-bit and 32-bit MCU market before being acquired by Microchip Technology in 2016 for $3.56 billion. Atmel was particularly known for its AVR® and ARM®-based MCUs, touchscreen controllers, and secure authentication chips, serving markets like consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, and IoT.