Harvard’s $699 Bootcamp Uses Creepy AI Instructor Clones
Harvard’s $699 HBS Foundry bootcamp uses HeyGen avatars to critique startup pitches, and even one cloned instructor admits his double feels a little creepy.
Summary
Harvard is charging $699 for startup coaching from AI copies of its instructors, and one teacher calls his double “creepy.” Harvard Business School’s eight-week HBS Foundry bootcamp uses HeyGen avatars to critique practice pitches and board meetings, while human instructors run live sessions weekly.
On August 22, 2026, New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler pitched “Uber for bananas” to a clone of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang. Both versions disliked it, but the avatar kept a frozen smile. Project director Katharina Rings first imagined a chatbot, then students requested more guidance after a trial. Participants like the avatars, and Bussgang says his students love his digital copy.
Positives
- Weekly live sessions keep human instructors in the eight-week program.
- HeyGen avatars give individual feedback on practice pitches and board meetings.
- Foundry participants said they liked the guided avatar experience.
Risks & concerns
- Jeff Bussgang called his digital copy a little creepy.
- Sarah Kessler noticed the avatar’s frozen smile during her pitch.
- AI avatars, not human instructors, handle practice feedback.
