Harvard Business School is piloting AI avatars of instructors in its eight-week HBS Foundry startup bootcamp, priced at $699, to provide personalized feedback during practice pitches and board meetings while preserving weekly live sessions with real instructors.

The AI avatars, created with HeyGen, are integrated into the curriculum to simulate realistic pitch and boardroom scenarios, offering feedback based on the original instructors’ expertise and teaching style, evolving from an initial chatbot concept to a more guided, interactive experience after user feedback.

The avatars are used to provide feedback during practice pitches and board meetings, with live instructor sessions remaining a core part of the program.

New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler tested the avatar tech by pitching an AI-generated version of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang, finding the virtual copy’s feedback somewhat frozen and the smile noticeably artificial.

Project director Katharina Rings said the plan started as a chatbot, but trials prompted a shift toward a more guided, interactive avatar experience based on user feedback.

Participants interact with the avatars to receive feedback, with some quirks like a frozen smile, but overall students respond positively and instructors say the AI adds novelty and convenience to mentorship.

Reactions indicate that despite glitches, the AI feedback is useful and can complement rather than replace human instruction in entrepreneurship education.

The initiative reflects a broader trend in higher education toward scalable, personalized learning through AI, aiming to broaden reach and individualized attention for entrepreneurs while raising questions about AI’s ability to match human nuance.

The program’s outcomes could influence how business schools and accelerators integrate AI into curricula, balancing AI-assisted feedback with human oversight to maintain instructional quality.

Foundry bootcamp participants generally like the avatars, even as Bussgang acknowledged his digital copy is a bit creepy, noting students appreciate it.