Why Diosdado “Dado” Banatao is someone to look up to
They rose. They lifted others.
From rural Cagayan to Silicon Valley, he became a pioneering engineer and entrepreneur - then used his success to open doors for future Filipino innovators.
From a Farmer’s Son in Cagayan to a Silicon Valley Pioneer
How does the son of a rice farmer from a small farming town in Cagayan become one of the Filipino engineers who helped shape the age of personal computing?
That is the remarkable story of Diosdado “Dado” Banatao.
Born in 1946 in Iguig, Cagayan, Banatao grew up in a rural farming family. His father encouraged him to concentrate on his education rather than work in the fields.
That decision helped change the course of his life.
Banatao excelled in school and eventually earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Mapúa Institute of Technology.
In 1968, he went to the United States and joined Boeing as a design engineer working on the Boeing 747 program. He later earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University, concentrating on computer architecture and semiconductor systems.
And then came Silicon Valley.
He Helped Change Personal Computing
Banatao became part of the semiconductor revolution that was transforming computers.
At SEEQ Technology, he helped develop an early 16-bit CMOS Ethernet transceiver.
He later co-founded Chips and Technologies, where the company developed what his family biography describes as the world’s first single-chip PC chipset.
Bringing functions together into chipsets helped reduce the complexity and cost of IBM-compatible personal computers.
Banatao later co-founded S3, another semiconductor company that became known for PC graphics technology.
These are highly technical accomplishments, but their significance is easy to understand:
Dado Banatao helped develop the technologies that made personal computers less complex, more affordable and more accessible.
But His Story Did Not End With Success
Perhaps one of the most admirable parts of Banatao’s life was what he did after achieving success.
He turned his attention toward helping other Filipinos gain opportunities through education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Through PhilDev - the Philippine Development Foundation — his vision has supported Filipino STEM scholars, innovators and entrepreneurs and encouraged the development of a culture of “technopreneurship” in the Philippines.
He wanted young Filipinos not simply to become users of technology, but to become its engineers, innovators and creators.
Why I Chose Dado Banatao
This selection is particularly meaningful to me.
Having spent my own professional life in information technology, I have a special appreciation for the people whose ideas and engineering made possible the computing world that so many of us eventually worked in.
But that is not the only reason I chose Dado Banatao.
I chose him because I want young Filipinos to see what his life represents.
He was not born in Silicon Valley.
He was born in Iguig, Cagayan.
He was a farmer’s son who was given an education, developed his abilities, ventured far beyond the world into which he was born, and eventually stood among innovators at the center of the global technology industry.
And after succeeding, he looked back toward the Philippines and asked, in effect:
How can we create more Filipinos who can do this?
That, to me, may be as important as the chips he helped create.
Because a truly successful life is not only about how far you go.
It is also about how many people you help go farther.
Dado Banatao passed away on December 25, 2025, in Palo Alto, California. But the technologies he helped pioneer, the companies he helped build, and the young Filipinos encouraged by his vision remain part of his legacy.
To every young Filipino who thinks that where you were born determines how far you can go, remember the farmer’s son from Cagayan.
Your beginning does not determine your destination.
Learn. Imagine. Build. Give Back.
That is why Diosdado “Dado” Banatao is a FILIPINO TO LOOK UP TO.