Harvard Business School launches $699 bootcamp featuring AI instructor avatars

Harvard Business School is expanding its entrepreneurial education with the Foundry bootcamp, an eight-week course priced at $699 that incorporates AI avatars developed by the startup HeyGen. The program still offers live instructor sessions each week, yet the AI versions of the teachers deliver most of the individualized feedback during mock pitches and boardroom simulations. a journalist at one outlet experienced the technology firsthand, presenting a whimsical “Uber for bananas” concept to an AI-generated likeness of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang; both the real Bussgang and his virtual twin reacted unfavorably.

Katharina Rings, the project’s director, explained that the avatars were initially envisioned as chatbot-style tools, but student requests for more structured guidance prompted a redesign. Although some college students voice criticism of AI, the Foundry cohort told Kessler they appreciate the avatars, and Bussgang admitted his digital replica feels slightly “creepy” but is valued by his students.