To understand this topic better, see AI arms races. This page will describe how this concept is treated in The plan .
I think the arms race can of two types. In either case it's driven by fear, but in the first case it's imaginary, whereas in the second case it's real.
Imagine a scenario where you know that an organization is developing an AGI at full speed. For now they have no safety plans, so you assume that when they reach AGI, they'll just proceed ahead. This will likely encourage you to develop your own AGI faster in turn.
If the other company will in fact do what you expect, then your fear is real. However, if the other company has a plan to stop at some milestone before full AGI to evaluate its safety, then your fear is mostly imaginary.
This makes communication really important. If companies make their plans public, then it will make it easier for people to distinguish between real and imaginary arms race scenarios.