Amiga Corporation

Amiga Corporation

Company type	Private
Industry	Computer hardware
Predecessor	Hi-Toro
Founded	September 1, 1982 (1982-09-01) in Santa Clara, California, United States
Founder	Jay Miner and former Atari employees
Defunct	1984 (1984)
Fate	Acquired by Commodore International
Headquarters	Santa Clara, California , United States
Area served	United States
Products	Amiga computer (project "Lorraine"), joysticks, game cartridges, Joyboard

Amiga Corporation was an American computer company established in the early 1980s, originally named Hi-Toro, and is primarily recognized for creating the Amiga computer, internally referred to as Lorraine.

1982

During the early 1980s, Jay Miner alongside several former Atari employees departed due to dissatisfaction with management. In September 1982, they founded a new enterprise in Santa Clara, California, initially called Hi-Toro (which was later renamed Amiga) to develop cutting-edge chipset technology. Their first office was located at 3350 Scott Boulevard, Santa Clara. The team’s objective was to design a Motorola 68000-based gaming console named Lorraine, which could be upgraded into a complete computer system. Initial financing came from three dentists in Florida who eventually recovered their investment after Commodore's acquisition.

To support development of the Lorraine project, Amiga generated revenue by selling joysticks and game cartridges compatible with consoles such as the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision, along with the Joyboard, a variation of a joystick controlled by standing on it.

1983

By 1983, Amiga had depleted its venture capital and required additional funding. Jay Miner reached out to his former employer Atari, which agreed to finance Amiga’s development in exchange for exclusive rights to use the design for one year. Atari intended to produce a 68000-based system codenamed "Mickey," incorporating custom chips, though specifics were scarce.

This period coincided with a major collapse in the video game market culminating in the 1983 crash. By the end of that year, Atari was incurring losses close to $1 million per day, prompting its owner Warner Communications to attempt selling the company despite limited buyer interest.

1984

At Commodore International, tensions escalated between president Jack Tramiel and principal shareholder Irving Gould. Tramiel advocated for developing a 32-bit successor to the Commodore 64 to compete with emerging platforms like the Apple Macintosh. After prolonged disagreements, Tramiel was dismissed in January 1984.

Following his departure, Tramiel established Tramel Technology, Ltd., intending to acquire an existing company with manufacturing capabilities and technological assets. He engaged in discussions with multiple firms including Mindset and Amiga; however, negotiations with Amiga broke down as he expressed interest solely in their chipset technology rather than their personnel. Meanwhile, Tramiel’s lead engineer Shiraz Shivji was progressing on a new affordable yet powerful computer system.

By June of that year, Tramiel’s design neared completion. Upon learning that Warner sought to sell Atari—which was then losing approximately $10,000 daily—Tramiel arranged to purchase Atari's Consumer Division in July 1984, forming Atari Corporation. In response, Commodore filed an injunction aiming to prevent Tramiel and Atari from releasing their new computer.

After assuming control of Atari Corp., Tramiel dismissed most remaining employees and halted ongoing projects pending reassessment of their feasibility. During this process, his team uncovered the original contract between Atari and Amiga.

In April 1984, BYTE magazine reported that Amiga was developing a home computer based on the 68000 processor featuring custom graphics and 128K RAM priced below $1000. According to their agreement, Amiga was required to deliver the chipset to Atari Inc. by June 30, 1984 or risk forfeiting ownership of the company and its technology. Facing financial difficulties and rumors of Tramiel’s impending acquisition of Atari, Amiga urgently sought new investment.

Concurrent with Tramiel’s efforts to acquire Atari, Amiga entered negotiations with Commodore. Commodore aimed to purchase Amiga outright, thereby nullifying existing contracts including that with now-defunct Atari Inc. Instead of transferring the chipset to Atari, Commodore paid $500,000 directly to Atari Corp. on behalf of Amiga—recovering funds expended on completing the Lorraine chipset.

Commodore's Acquisition in August 1984

In August 1984, Tramiel initiated a countersuit against Commodore via Amiga, pursuing damages and seeking a court order to prevent Commodore from utilizing the acquired technology, with the intention of disrupting Commodore’s emerging product lineup.

During the summer months, the Amiga team faced considerable uncertainty due to ongoing litigation, with no communications regarding progress on the Lorraine system, chipset development, or team status. By autumn 1984, Commodore resumed work on the Lorraine project, pushing forward enhancements in chipset design, operating system development, and hardware engineering.

After the acquisition, Amiga was integrated as a division within Commodore. Nonetheless, numerous original team members either departed voluntarily or were terminated amid managerial difficulties. During this timeframe, Atari finalized and released the Atari ST computer just a few months prior to Amiga’s market debut.

The legal conflicts between Commodore and Atari were ultimately resolved through an out-of-court agreement in March 1987.

See also

• Amiga, Inc.
• Commodore

External links

• On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore (2005), Variant Press. Details the origins of Amiga Corporation and its acquisition by Commodore.
• Amiga History Guide: Amiga 1982 - 1984