December 27, 2025 | 9:45am
ALBAY, Philippines — Diosdado “Dado” Banatao, one of the most influential Filipino engineers in Silicon Valley and a pioneer in microchip and computer technology, passed away on December 25 in Stanford, California. He was 79.
Banatao’s family confirmed that he died due to “complications from a neurological disorder that developed later in his life.”
“We are mourning his loss, but take comfort from the time spent with him during this Christmas season, and that his fight with this disease is over. We thank everyone for all the messages of support and prayers during this time,” his son Rey Banatao said in a social media post.
Born in Iguig, Cagayan, Banatao rose from humble beginnings as the son of a rice farmer and a housekeeper.
He earned a degree in electrical engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology before pursuing graduate studies at Stanford University, where he completed his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1972.
After initially working as a design engineer at Boeing in the United States, Banatao built a distinguished career across several major technology firms, including National Semiconductor, Intersil and Commodore International. During this period, he designed the first single-chip, 16-bit microprocessor-based calculator.
Banatao is widely credited for landmark contributions to the global technology industry.
In 1981, while working at Seeq Technology, he developed the first 10-megabit Ethernet CMOS with silicon coupler data-link control and transceiver chip. He later created the first system logic chipsets for IBM’s PC-XT and PC-AT, as well as one of the earliest graphical user interface (GUI) accelerators for personal computers.
A serial entrepreneur, Banatao co-founded several successful startups, including Mostron, Chips and Technologies and S3 Graphics.
In 1984, he helped establish Mostron, a motherboard manufacturing company. A year later, he co-founded Chips and Technologies, where he developed the chipset used in IBM’s PC-XT and PC-AT computers.
In 1989, he launched S3 Graphics, which focused on improving personal computer graphics through accelerator chips.
By 2000, Banatao had formed his own venture capital firm, Tallwood Venture Capital. He later served as chief executive officer of Ikanos Communications in 2010. He was also involved with SiRF Technology Inc., a company that pioneered the commercial use of global positioning system (GPS) technology for consumer applications.
Beyond his technological achievements, Banatao was deeply committed to education and nation-building. He established the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev), a non-profit organization that provides scholarships, mentorship and training programs to young Filipinos pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
PhilDev operates in both the United States and the Philippines.
“He believed deeply in Filipino talent and often emphasized that talent was never the problem, what mattered was opportunity and access to world-class technology education,” former Finance chief Cesar Purisima said of Banatao.
In recognition of his contributions, Banatao was named one of the ten Living Legends featured by the Philippine Postal Corp. in 2021 for his impact on science and technology.
He also received numerous honors, including the Pamana ng Filipino Award in 1997, the Asian Leadership Award in 1993 and the Ramon V. del Rosario Award in 2018.
