The incentive for academic labs and researchers to go public is very clear: publications and kudos in the community, which leads to career advancement and plent

The incentive for academic labs and researchers to go public is very clear: publications and kudos in the community, which leads to career advancement and plentiful research funding. You don't get super-rich like this, but you get the things that people really want. Respect of your peers, feeling like you are doing something useful, and enough money to run a lab and live a decent middle-class lifestyle, so you can get on with the work you love. That's a good life. (Also you might want to stay in touch with your grad students who are driven to get rich. Can't hurt.)