Harvard Business School launches AI faculty clones in $699 startup bootcamp
Harvard Business School is offering entrepreneurs access to AI versions of seven faculty members through an eight-week online bootcamp priced at $699. The program, run under HBS Foundry, lets participants rehearse investor pitches, sales calls, and board presentations as many times as they want before facing real mentors or investors. According to the report, graduates may also get a chance to compete for a $100,000 investment, and 760 entrepreneurs have already taken part. The project started in 2024 and was initially built as a text-based adviser similar to ChatGPT. After a trial launch in October 2025, the team rebuilt it into a structured simulation format based on user feedback, then officially launched it in April this year. The AI avatars span venture capital, business model design, board governance, and startup strategy. One of them is Jeff Bussgang, co-founder of Flybridge Capital and a senior lecturer at HBS. HBS says the bootcamp is not a degree program and carries no academic credit. The school frames it as a way to extend entrepreneurial support to people who may never study at Harvard or gain access to elite innovation networks. Still, the report notes clear limits: AI can repeat explanations and answer endless questions, but it cannot truly know a student in the way a human professor can.






