Key Takeaways
- Harvard Business School uses Harvard AI avatars to train entrepreneurs in its $699 startup bootcamp.
- Participants practice pitches and board meetings with digital versions of instructors.
- Human instructors still lead weekly live sessions alongside AI-powered learning exercises.
Harvard Business School is using AI avatars of instructors in its eight-week HBS Foundry bootcamp to give entrepreneurs repeated feedback on pitches and simulated board meetings while human instructors continue weekly live sessions.
Harvard Uses AI Avatars For Startup Practice
The $699 program uses digital versions of instructors created with technology from HeyGen, an AI-generated video company. These Harvard AI avatars allow participants to practice business scenarios between live sessions, allowing them to repeat exercises without requiring an instructor to join each time.
The program is designed for entrepreneurs and includes live instruction alongside AI-supported practice. Harvard’s application page confirms the $699 enrollment fee and identifies the program as an eight-week bootcamp.
The Harvard AI avatars are used for exercises such as startup pitches and simulated board meetings. The approach gives participants another way to rehearse how they present and defend business ideas.
AI Version Of Harvard Instructor Faces Test
New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler tested an AI-generated version of Jeff Bussgang, a Harvard Business School instructor and co-founder of Flybridge Capital. She pitched an idea for an “Uber for bananas” to the digital version during an experiment involving the Harvard AI avatars.
Kessler found that the avatar could take part in the exercise but also showed signs of the technology’s limitations, including a noticeably frozen smile. Both the real Bussgang and his AI version were unimpressed by the fictional startup idea.
Bussgang acknowledged that his digital replica could feel “creepy,” but said, “My students love it,” according to TechCrunch’s report. Participants in the program also told Kessler they liked interacting with the avatars.
Harvard Shifts From Chatbots To Guided AI
Katharina Rings, the project’s director, said the original concept was closer to a traditional chatbot. After Harvard tested an early version, students said they wanted a more structured and guided experience, according to TechCrunch.
The shift reflects a broader effort to use AI for interactive training rather than simply answering questions or generating written material. In Foundry, Harvard AI avatars are being used as practice partners while human instructors remain part of the program.
The experiment also highlights limits that remain around AI-based instruction. The available reporting shows that participants responded positively to the avatars, but it does not establish that the technology improves learning, fundraising results, or startup performance.
Harvard’s approach instead offers a test of how Harvard AI avatars might extend access to practice and feedback without removing live teaching from the program.
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