Harvard's $699 Startup Bootcamp Uses AI Avatars of Instructors
Original: Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors
Why This Matters
Signals growing institutional adoption of AI avatars in higher education and professional training programs.
Harvard Business School's eight-week HBS Foundry bootcamp, priced at $699, uses AI avatars created by startup HeyGen to provide individual feedback to entrepreneurship students during practice pitches and simulated board meetings, supplementing weekly live instructor sessions.
Harvard Business School has integrated AI-generated instructor avatars into its HBS Foundry program, an eight-week entrepreneurship bootcamp priced at $699. The avatars, built by AI video startup HeyGen, are used specifically to give feedback during practice pitch sessions and mock board meetings, while live sessions with actual instructors continue on a weekly basis.
New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler tested the technology firsthand by pitching an AI avatar of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang with a fictional concept described as 'Uber for bananas.' Both the real Bussgang and his AI counterpart were unimpressed with the pitch, though Kessler noted the virtual version displayed a noticeably frozen smile throughout.
Project director Katharina Rings said she originally conceived the AI component as a simple chatbot, but after a trial release, students requested a more guided and interactive experience. Bussgang acknowledged his digital replica is 'a little creepy,' but added, 'My students love it.' Foundry participants interviewed by Kessler reported positive reactions to the avatars, contrasting with broader skepticism toward AI tools reported among some college students.