then whoever has programmed the best source code for that AI to start would eventually have a leg up in the AI race.

Interesting point, but I disagree, and perhaps I am not terribly good at explaining myself. I think whoever makes the source code is essentially irrelevant. Think of who thought of the first...anything. What human made the first 'vocal communication' that might be considered something close to the first word ( as opposed to something other than a bark or grunt). A great step forward in human evolution, but essentially irrelevant for anyone wishing to advance language beyond what it is today. Interesting, but not usefull in terms of progress today. Because we have thousands of years of evolution on top of that, we've moved on.

AI will achieve this evolution in fractions of a second. So whoever developed it (the AI), will, for all intents and purposes, instantly not understand it if it is true AI. This is the AI we will compete against very soon as modern traders.