OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told President Lee Jae Myung that the company hopes to use Korea as a testbed for its first hardware product, the presidential office said Tuesday. The two met in San Francisco on Friday to discuss expanding cooperation, including on next-generation AI devices. Senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Altman "expressed expectations for using Korea as a testbed" for the device, which is due in the first quarter of next year, and signaled a willingness to broaden the partnership. Bloomberg reported on July 15, citing people familiar with the project, that OpenAI's first product is a screenless smart speaker with a rechargeable battery, designed to be carried from room to room as a household AI companion. The effort rests on OpenAI's $6.5 billion acquisition last year of io Products, the startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. During trademark litigation brought by audio startup iyO, the company said in February that it would not ship the device before the end of February 2027. On July 10, Apple sued OpenAI and its chief hardware officer Tang Tan in the Northern District of California, alleging theft of trade secrets, and is seeking an injunction that could delay sales.