Dado Banatao

Dado Banatao
Banatao on a 2021 Philippine stamp
Born
Diosdado P. Banatao

(1946-05-23)May 23, 1946
Iguig, Cagayan, Philippines
DiedDecember 25, 2025(2025-12-25) (aged 79)
Stanford, California, U.S.
CitizenshipFilipino
Alma mater
OccupationsFounder & Managing Partner of Tallwood Venture Capital, CEO of Ikanos Communications, Chairman of PhilDev Foundation[1]
Known forPC chipsets, PHY chips
Board member ofT-RAM Semiconductor, Inc., Inphi Corporation, Alphion Corporation, Sirf Technology Inc., Quintic Corporation, Wilocity Ltd., Integrated Micro-Electronics[1]
SpouseMaria Cariaga
Parent(s)Salvador and Rosita Banatao

Diosdado P. Banatao (May 23, 1946 – December 25, 2025) was a Filipino businessman and electrical engineer working in the high-tech industry, credited with having developed the first 10-Mbit Ethernet CMOS chip, the first system logic chipset compatible with IBM's PC/XT and the PC/AT, and one of the first GUI accelerators for personal computers. A three-time start-up veteran, he co-founded Mostron, Chips and Technologies, and S3 Graphics.

Early life and education

Banatao was born in Iguig, Cagayan, Philippines on May 23, 1946. His father, Salvador Banatao, was a rice farmer. His mother, Rosita Banatao, was a housekeeper.[2]

He had a rags-to-riches story. During his childhood, he walked barefoot on a dirt road just to reach Malabbac Elementary School. He pursued his secondary education at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Tuguegarao. After high school, he pursued his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Mapúa Institute of Technology and graduated cum laude.[3][4]

Career

After college, he turned down several job offers, including one from Meralco. He joined Philippine Airlines as a trainee pilot, and later joined Boeing. At Boeing, he worked as a design engineer for the company's new commercial airliner and cargo transport aircraft, Boeing 747, in the United States. With the opportunity to stay in the United States, he then took his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University and finished in 1972.[2][5] Banatao also joined the Homebrew Computer Club, where he met Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.[6]

After finishing his master's degree, Banatao worked with different technology companies such as the National Semiconductor, Intersil, and Commodore International. He designed the first single chip, 16-bit microprocessor-based calculator.[2] In 1981, he developed the first 10-Mbit Ethernet CMOS with silicon coupler data-link control and transceiver chip while working in Seeq Technology. He was also credited with the first system logic chipset for IBM's PC/XT and PC/AT; the local bus concept; and one of the first GUI accelerator chips for personal computers.[7]

In 1984, Banatao and his business partner Francis Siu founded the motherboard manufacturing company, Mostron, with US$500,000 in start-up capital; they also hired Ron Yara of Intel as a company executive. After Banatao developed a five-chip chipset compatible with IBM's PC/AT, he co-founded Chips and Technologies (C&T) in 1985. The company developed chipsets compatible with IBM's Personal Computer family, including the PC/AT and the PC/XT. C&T generated $12 million in revenue in its first four months. After 22 months, the company went public. In 1989, Banatao launched his third start-up company, S3 Graphics, with Yara in Santa Clara, California.[8]S3 developed GUI accelerators that enhanced the capabilities of personal computers in rendering graphical user interfaces (GUIs).[9][7] The key advantage in S3's chips was the implementation of a local bus. The company had an initial public offering of $30 million. By 1996 S3 was the leader of the GUI accelerator market, beating out their strong competitor, Cirrus Logic. In the same year, Chips & Technologies was sold to Intel for about $300 million.[10] In 2000 Banatao decided to start his own venture capital firm named Tallwood Venture Capital with a capital of US$300 million, all of which came out of his own pocket. He later sold another small company, with fewer than 20 employees, for more than $1 billion.[11] Dado was also part of SiRF, one of the first companies to commercialize the GPS after it had been declassified by the United States government.[12]

In 2010, Banatao became Ikanos Communications' CEO after Michael Gulett resigned as the company's CEO and president.[13]

Philanthropy

In the Philippines, Banatao through his Dado Banatao Educational Foundation,[14] annually awards five educational scholarships to intelligent Filipino students who have bright futures in the field of engineering and technology.[15] He also chaired the Philippine Development Foundation, which helps send brilliant young Filipinos to school to help them reach their full potential. PhilDev was spun off from Ayala Foundation's program.[16] Through his Banatao Filipino American Fund, he assisted Californian high school students of Filipino heritage in their pursuit of college education in engineering. He also built a computer center at his grade school in his hometown of Iguig, making it the only public school with the most modern computer network in the Philippines.[2]

Death

On December 25, 2025, Banatao died in Stanford, California due to complications stemming from an undisclosed neurological disorder. He was 79.[12]

Accolades

Awards received by Diosdado Banatao
Year Awarded by Award Category Result Source
1993 Asian Business League of San Francisco Asian Leadership Award Won [10]
1997 Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos Pamana ng Filipino Award Won [10]
Ernst & Young, Inc. Magazine, and Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award Won [3]
2011 Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) Kalampusan Award Corporate Achievement Won [17]
2018 JCI Manila and PHINMA Corporation

with DLSU RVR College of Business and Asian Institute of Management

Ramon V. Del Rosario Award Nation Building Won
Recognitions received by Diosdado Banatao
Year Organization Recognition Source
1993 National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, Inc. (NECO) Ellis Island Medal of Honor [10]
1994
2002 The Forbes Midas List Rank 49 out of 100 [18]
2003 Rank 68 out of 100
2004 Rank 58 out of 100
2005 Rank 42 out of 100
2006 Rank 91 out of 100 [19]
2009 Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology Doctor of Technology (honoris causa) [20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Diosdado P. Banatao: Executive Profile and Biography". BusinessWeek. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Tyrone Solee (June 11, 2009). "Dado Banatao Success Story". Millionaire Reacts. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Gonzalez, Bianca (June 3, 2012). "Where in the World Is Dado Banatao?". 10 Things. The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  4. ^ de Castro, Cynthia (September 27, 2009). "DIOSDADO 'DADO' BANATAO: 'The Filipino Bill Gates' comes to LA for Ayala Foundation USA's business seminar". Asian Journal. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  5. ^ Howard, Caroline J. (April 30, 2012). "Banatao: With culture of science, Filipinos can compete globally". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "Diosdado 'Dado' Banatao's odyssey from Cagayan Valley to Silicon Valley". Asian Journal News. January 4, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Villacorta, Carissa (April 29, 2012). "Investing in PH engineering talent". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  8. ^ Crisp, Penny; Lopez, Antonio (July 2000). "Making Good in Silicon Valley". Asiaweek. 26 (8). Hong Kong: Time Inc. ISSN 1012-6244. Archived from the original on January 29, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  9. ^ Quain, John R. (January 12, 1993). "The S3 Crowd". PC Magazine. Vol. 12, no. 1. p. 228.
  10. ^ a b c d Hirahara, Naomi (2003). Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 242. ISBN 1573563447.
  11. ^ "Chairman Dado". Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Filipino engineer Dado Banatao passes away". ABS-CBN. December 26, 2025. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  13. ^ Brown, Steven E .F. (April 28, 2010). "Ikanos Communications CEO quits". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  14. ^ Diosdado Banatao Inventions, Companies, and Foundation
  15. ^ "The Filipino Champion: Dado Banatao". Balitang America. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  16. ^ "Banatao: With the culture of science, Filipinos can compete globally". ABS-CBN News. April 30, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  17. ^ Abarquez-Delacruz, Prosy (April 30, 2011). "Dado Banatao keynotes SIPA 39th Anniversary Benefit Dinner". Asian Journal. Retrieved October 14, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ "Pinoy Tech Billionaire Profile: Diosdado Banatao". Nego Sentro. May 31, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  19. ^ "The Forbes Midas List 2006". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  20. ^ Polito, Rabindranath S. (March 30, 2009). "MSU-IIT's 39th Commencement Exercises". Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
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