Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors

Harvard Business School’s eight-week, $699 Foundry bootcamp uses AI avatars created by HeyGen to deliver individualized feedback on practice pitches and board meetings. New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler tested the system, noting the avatars’ frozen smiles and that both the real and virtual Jeff Bussgang dismissed her “Uber for bananas” concept. Participants reported liking the avatars, despite some students’ broader discomfort with AI.