Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors
In Brief Posted: 2:46 PM PDT · August 22, 2026 Image Credits:Malte Mueller / Getty Images As Harvard Business School seeks to expand its reach, it’s leaning on AI avatars to provide individual feedback. These avatars were created by a startup called HeyGen and are included in the eight-week, $699 HBS Foundry bootcamp for entrepreneurs.
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Key Facts
- Fact 1: In Brief Posted: 2:46 PM PDT · August 22, 2026 Image Credits:Malte Mueller / Getty Images As Harvard Business School seeks to expand its reach, it’s leaning on AI avatars to provide individual feedback.
- Fact 2: These avatars were created by a startup called HeyGen and are included in the eight-week, $699 HBS Foundry bootcamp for entrepreneurs.
In Brief Posted: 2:46 PM PDT · August 22, 2026 Image Credits:Malte Mueller / Getty Images As Harvard Business School seeks to expand its reach, it’s leaning on AI avatars to provide individual feedback. These avatars were created by a startup called HeyGen and are included in the eight-week, $699 HBS Foundry bootcamp for entrepreneurs.
The program offers live sessions with instructors every week, but the AI avatars are the ones providing feedback during practice pitches and board meetings. New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler actually tried this out herself by pitching an AI-generated copy of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang. Apparently, both the real Bussgang and his simulacra were unimpressed by her plan to build “Uber for bananas,” but Kessler said the virtual version offered a noticeably frozen smile during her pitch.
(Original synthesis pending human/AI review — generated by the stub provider by selecting real sentences from the source material, not by writing new analysis or commentary.)
Original source: TechCrunch
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