Also just want to add that AMD were working on adaptive sync before Gsync launched. Remember the first Gsync monitor was only released 6/7 months before the first Freesync monitor. And that delay was mainly due to following the path of open certification and getting adaptive sync added to the display port standard, which took 7/8 months. So while Nvidia were first to the market, it's completely wrong to say that without Nvidia sync tech would never have appeared. AMD had laid the groundwork. They had installed the hardware needed to support adaptive sync in their cards before the first Gsync demo.
but, don't take my word for it. If you believe the industry expert like Tom Petersen then you also have to believe Robert Hallock. When he was here doing the Q&A about Freesync, I asked him that very question. He confirmed that AMD had been working on Freesync alongside the development of GCN 1.1.