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 Anthony Ha Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors As Harvard Business School seeks to expand its reach, it’s leaning on AI avatars to provide individual feedback. These avatars…
In Brief Posted: 2:46 PM PDT · August 22, 2026 Image Credits:Malte Mueller / Getty Images Anthony Ha Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors 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. Project director Katharina Rings said she initially envisioned the AI component as something closer to a chatbot. However, after HBS released a trial version, students said they wanted a more guided experience. And while some college students haven’t been shy about expressing their negative feelings towards AI, Foundry participants told Kessler they like the avatars. As for Bussgang, he acknowledged his digital copy is a little “creepy,” but he said, “My students love it.” Topics AI, Harvard Business School October 13 – 15 San Francisco In less than 48 hours, your chance to save up to $300 on your tickets will end! REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news Related Government & Policy Will the DOJ’s investigation into a16z spook other VCs? Anthony Ha 8 hours ago AI Frontier AI labs still won’t say how they’d contain a rogue model Rebecca Bellan 13 hours ago AI Anthropic’s Opus 4.6 is a smut-machine Rebecca Bellan 1 day ago Latest in AI In Brief Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors Anthony Ha 7 hours ago AI Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI ‘teammate’ just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research Anna Heim 10 hours ago In Brief OpenAI says California should strengthen its AI safety bill Anthony Ha 12 hours agoSource: TechCrunch — Published — Category: Business