Harvard Business School is expanding its entrepreneurial training with a digital twist: AI avatars are now part of its eight-week Foundry bootcamp, priced at $699.
Built with startup HeyGen, the avatars are designed to support participants through practice pitches and boardroom-style exercises. While weekly live sessions still anchor the program, the AI layer adds personalized feedback between meetings.
In one test run, reporter Sarah Kessler tried pitching a virtual version of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang. The response from both the real and digital Bussgang was cool toward her "Uber for bananas" idea, but the avatar stood out for its remarkably fixed expression.
Program director Katharina Rings said the original plan was closer to a chatbot. After the pilot phase, however, students asked for a more structured and guided experience, helping shape the current format.
Even as opinions about AI vary across campuses, Foundry participants have responded positively to the avatar-based approach. Bussgang himself described his digital double as slightly unsettling, while noting that students enjoy the experience.
This experiment suggests that AI-powered learning may become a more interactive part of business education, blending human mentorship with scalable digital coaching in the years ahead.
