Yes, this is an old post but one thing that strikes me about the semantic web vs. brute force approach is that the semantic web approach is (assuming it works)

Yes, this is an old post but one thing that strikes me about the semantic web vs. brute force approach is that the semantic web approach is (assuming it works) much cheaper for startups, whereas the brute force practically dictates having tons of cash and an existing infrastructure. Taken from this perspective, it's easy to see why the big players favor the brute force approach.