Harvard's $699 startup bootcamp puts HeyGen AI avatars of its instructors in front of students
Harvard Business School is using AI avatars to scale feedback in its eight-week, $699 Foundry bootcamp for entrepreneurs. The avatars, built by startup HeyGen, stand in for instructors during practice pitches and board meetings, while the program still runs live sessions with the real instructors every week.
New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler tested the setup by pitching an AI-generated copy of Jeff Bussgang, co-founder of venture firm Flybridge Capital, who also teaches in the program. Kessler pitched her idea, described in the piece as "Uber for bananas," to both the real Bussgang and his avatar. Neither was impressed, and Kessler noted the avatar wore a noticeably frozen smile throughout the pitch. Bussgang himself called his digital copy a little "creepy," but said, "My students love it."
Foundry project director Katharina Rings said she originally pictured the AI component as something closer to a simple chatbot. That changed after HBS put out a trial version: students asked for a more guided experience, which pushed the program toward the avatar format now in use. Kessler's reporting found a split in attitude toward the tool. Some college students generally have been open about disliking AI in their coursework, but Foundry participants told her they liked the avatars.
Key facts
- Harvard Business School's Foundry bootcamp for entrepreneurs costs $699 and runs eight weeks.
- AI avatars of instructors, built by startup HeyGen, give students feedback during practice pitches and board meetings, alongside weekly live sessions with the real instructors.
- New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler pitched an AI avatar of instructor Jeff Bussgang, co-founder of Flybridge Capital, and found both the avatar and the real Bussgang unimpressed by her pitch, with the avatar wearing a frozen smile.
- Project director Katharina Rings said she first envisioned the AI component as a chatbot, but switched to the avatar format after trial users asked for a more guided experience.
- Bussgang called his avatar "creepy" but said his students love it, and Foundry participants told Kessler they like the avatars.
Why it matters
It is a concrete case of a university using synthetic instructor personas to scale a hands-on program without adding live teaching hours. HBS keeps its weekly live sessions but hands the repetitive, one-on-one work of practice pitches and board-meeting feedback to avatars of the same instructors, an approach that could spread to other coaching-heavy programs where personal feedback is the bottleneck.
Who it affects
Foundry students, who get feedback from avatars of their instructors rather than only from the instructors themselves; the instructors, whose likenesses and teaching style are turned into a standing digital tool used outside their direct involvement; and HeyGen, whose avatar technology underpins the program.
How to use it
The Foundry bootcamp is an eight-week program priced at $699 for entrepreneurs. Live instructor sessions happen weekly; the HeyGen-built avatars are used specifically for feedback during practice pitches and board meetings between those sessions.
How solid is it
The account rests on direct reporting: a New York Times journalist who pitched the avatar herself, on-the-record comments from project director Katharina Rings about how the format was chosen, and a quote from instructor Jeff Bussgang about his own avatar. No enrollment figures, launch date, or technical detail on how the avatars are built or generate feedback are given in the source.
Risks and caveats
The source notes a broader split in how students feel about AI in coursework, with some college students openly negative about it, even as Foundry participants reported liking the avatars. Bussgang's own description of his avatar as "creepy," and Kessler's observation of its frozen smile during a pitch, point to real limits in how convincing the current avatars are, even where students say they find the feedback useful.
“My students love it.”
— Jeff Bussgang, Flybridge Capital co-founder and Foundry instructor, on his AI avatar