Really? Even if they were working on a merely difficult problem, you would expect coding to be the very last step of the project. People don't solve hard algorithmic problems by writing some code and seeing what happens. I wouldn't expect an organization working optimally on AGI to write any code until after making some remarkable progress on the problem.

IMO, there's a pretty good chance of an existing organisation being involved with getting there first. The main problem with not having any working products is that it is challenging to accumulate resources - which are needed to hire researchers and programmers - which you need to fuel your self-improvement cycle.

Google, hedge funds, and security agencies have their self-improvement cycle already rolling - they are evidently getting better and better as time passes. That results in accumulated resources, which can be used to drive further development.

If you were a search company who aimed directly at a human-level search agent, you are now up against a gorilla with an android army who already has most of the pieces of the puzzle. Waiting until you have done all the relevant R+D is just not how software development works. You get up and running as fast as you can - or else someone else does that first - and eats your lunch.