Diosdado Pamittan Banatao

Diosdado (Dado) Pamittan Banatao, a pioneering Silicon Valley engineer, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist whose work helped shape the modern personal computer (PC), data networks for computing and communications, and the smartphone industry, passed away on December 25, 2025, in Palo Alto, California. He leaves behind a legacy of innovation, perseverance, mentorship, and service.

Birth and Education

Dado was born on May 23, 1946, to Salvador and Rosita Banatao in the rural farming town of Iguig, in the Cagayan Province of the Philippines. Wishing a better life for his children, his father, a rice farmer, pushed him to focus on his education as opposed to helping in the fields. He excelled academically, graduating at the top of his class from Malabac elementary school, which earned him a place at Ateneo de Tuguegarao, a Jesuit boarding high school far from his home village.

He later earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Mapúa Institute of Technology in Manila. After briefly pursuing pilot training with Philippine Airlines, Dado’s engineering talent led him to the United States in 1968, where he joined Boeing as a design engineer working on the Boeing 747 program in Seattle, Washington. He enrolled at the University of Washington for continuing education courses, where through mutual friends, he met his future wife, Maria Cariaga. Maria was also attending the University of Washington, where she ultimately earned a master’s in educational psychology. In 1970, he was accepted into graduate school at Stanford University, where he earned his master’s in electrical engineering, concentrating on computer architecture and semiconductor systems. It was a convergence of expertise, timing, and location that would define his career. Maria soon followed Dado to California, and they would marry in 1972.

Engineer, Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist

Upon graduating from Stanford, Dado became a central figure in the early semiconductor and personal computing industries, holding influential engineering roles at National Semiconductor, Commodore International, Intersil, and SEEQ Technology, where he helped develop the first 16-bit CMOS Ethernet transceiver. At Commodore, he contributed to early system concepts that led to the PET computer, one of the first mass-market PCs. Across these roles, he was known for his rare ability to bridge hardware and software at a time when the two disciplines were seldom integrated.

With the knowledge gained as an engineer at these companies, Dado went on to start his entrepreneurial career, beginning with Mostron in 1984. Dado later co-founded Chips and Technologies with Gordon Campbell and Ron Yara, where they designed the world’s first single-chip PC chipset. This breakthrough dramatically reduced the cost and complexity of IBM-compatible personal computers, accelerating the global adoption of the PC. Under his technical leadership, the company grew rapidly and went public within two years, defining the emerging fabless semiconductor business model and reshaping how the semiconductor industry designed and delivered products.

Building on the success of Chips and Technologies, Dado co-founded S3, again with Yara and adding Donna Young, after identifying a critical inflection point in computing. As graphical user interfaces, multimedia, and visual performance became essential to personal computing, he recognized that graphics acceleration would be central to the next phase of PC evolution. At S3, Dado directed the design of graphic accelerators as well as the bus interfaces that would allow for these subsystems to be easily and cost-effectively integrated into the rapidly growing Windows-based PC industry. S3’s graphic accelerator chips became widely adopted, establishing S3 as the dominant force in PC graphics as the company went public in 1993 and ultimately laying the groundwork for the modern GPU industry.

Following his entrepreneurial successes, Dado transitioned into venture capital, joining the Mayfield Fund as a venture partner in 1997. He later founded Tallwood Venture Capital, where he focused on early-stage companies tackling complex engineering challenges within the semiconductor and communications fields. As a venture capitalist, he was known for his deep technical insight, disciplined approach to company building, and a long-term, patient perspective. Dado not only supplied capital to startups; he worked closely with founders, helping them build every aspect of their business. His venture capital investments include some of the most influential and successful semiconductor and communications startups of their time, including Marvell, Newport Communications, Cyras Systems, SiRF, and Inphi.

Dado has won numerous awards over his career as an entrepreneur, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1997. As a venture capitalist, he was named to Forbes Midas List for five consecutive years from 2002-2006.

Philanthropy

Deeply shaped by his own journey from modest beginnings to global impact, Dado believed strongly in giving back by expanding access to education, advancing innovation, and ensuring that technology served society at large. He was the key supporter of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, a multidisciplinary research center within the University of California system dedicated to harnessing information technology for the interest of society. Through a collaboration with UC Berkeley and four other UC campuses, CITRIS advances research and real-world solutions in areas such as health, climate resilience, intelligent infrastructure, transportation, public policy, and equitable access to technology. The institute bridges academic research and practical application through seed funding, prototyping facilities, workforce development, and partnerships that move ideas from concept to impact.

Dado also founded the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev), an organization committed to strengthening the Philippine innovation ecosystem through academic scholarships, entrepreneurship programs, and partnerships connecting academia, industry, and government. Through PhilDev, he helped create pathways for young Filipinos to pursue advanced education, build companies, and contribute meaningfully to global technology development. Across all his philanthropic efforts, Dado applied the same principles that guided his career: invest in fundamentals and empower people through knowledge and opportunity.

Survivors

Dado is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Maria Banatao, his children, Rey Banatao and wife Gabrielle Banatao, Desi Banatao and wife Jinah Banatao, Tala Banatao and husband Thomas Growney, and his nine cherished grandchildren - Isabelle, Lucas, Benjamin, Nathan, Chloe, Kayla, Owen, Brandon, and Austin. He is also survived by extended family members in the United States, Australia, and the Philippines.

Dado’s journey, from a farmer’s son in rural Philippines to a Silicon Valley pioneer to a society-changing philanthropist, stands as a testament to the power of education and perseverance. His influence endures in the technologies he helped create and the lives he uplifted along the way.