Atmel Named Winner in Semiconductors and Electronic Components Category for TechAmerica Foundation American Technology Awards

San Jose, CA, June 22, 2011 - Atmel® Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, has been named the winner in the Semiconductors and Electronic Components category for the American Technology Awards, which bestows the only "Best Of" awards that recognize all technology products and services for the technology industry. The award was attributed to the Atmel® maXTouch™ largescreen solution that supports touchscreens up to 15 inches for emerging products including tablets, smartbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), Netbooks, PC notebooks, and a range of industrial applications. Nominations for The American Technology Awards "The Termans" were vetted by industry experts and technology companies. These awards have been named after Frederick Terman, who is widely credited as being the father of Silicon Valley.

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency components and leverages one of the industry's broadest intellectual property technology portfolios. More information about Atmel is available at www.atmel.com.

"Atmel is honored to be a winner of the prestigious TechAmerica Foundation American Technology Awards," said Jon Kiachian, sr. marketing director of touch, Atmel Corporation. "Atmel maXTouch solutions are a family of products that offer users a touchscreen experience with the best responsiveness, excellent battery life and superior touchscreen performance. This award is further testament that Atmel maXTouch technology is leading the touch market with its solutions."

"We had a lot of nominations for these prestigious awards, and we congratulate Atmel Corporation for their winning achievement," said Senator Bob Bennett, Chairman for TechAmerica Foundation. "TechAmerica Foundation is excited to highlight Atmel, as it continues to influence technology development throughout the rest of the world."

The American Technology Awards were presented for each of following segments of the technology industry: Aerospace and Defense; Clean Tech/Green Tech/Smart Grid; Cloud Computing/Software as a Service; Computers and Peripherals; Consumer Electronics; Cyber Security and Authentication; Electronic Components; Internet Services; Measurement and Control Instruments; Medical Devices; Server & Storage Technology; Software; Technology Consulting; Technology Services; and Telecommunications. Additional award categories include: Breakthrough Technology; Corporate Leadership; and Government Technology Executive of the Year..

The winners were announced on June 15 at TechAmerica Foundation's ninth annual Technology and Government Dinner which has been a premier Washington, D.C. networking event bringing hundreds of industry, congressional and government leaders together at one venue to celebrate the partnership between industry and government.

For more information, please visit www.techamericafoundation.org/thetermans.

About Atmel

Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on industrial, consumer, communications, computing and automotive markets. Atmel® and maXTouch™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries.

About TechAmerica Foundation

TechAmerica Foundation educates industry executives, policy makers and opinion leaders on the promise of technological innovation to advance prosperity, security and the general welfare. Launched in 2009, the Foundation is a 501c(3) non-profit, non-partisan affiliate of TechAmerica, which is the leading voice and resource for the U.S. technology industry. The Foundation disseminates award-winning industry, policy and market research covering topics such as U.S. competitiveness in a global economy, innovation in government, and other areas of national interest. It also organizes conferences and seminars to explore pertinent issues with government and industry representatives and to share the Foundation's findings. Learn more about TechAmerica Foundation at www.techamericafoundation.org.

© 2011 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel®, Atmel logo and combinations thereof, and AVR® are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Atmel Press Contact:

Agnes Toan, PR Manager

Phone: (+1) 408-487-2963, Email: agnes.toan@atmel.com

TechAmerica Foundation Press Contact:

Anne Caliguiri Savoie, Director of Communications

Phone: (+1) 703-284-5305, Email: anne.savoie@techamericafoundation.org