Harvard Launches Course Taught by AI Clones of Faculty
Harvard Business School has launched an eight-week entrepreneurship bootcamp in which interactive AI video avatars of its faculty guide founders through the process of building a startup. The program, called H.B.S. Foundry, charges a $699 enrollment fee and uses AI clones of real professors trained on their writings, cases, and expertise, according to The New York Times.
A New Frontier in AI-Powered Education
The bootcamp is designed to take entrepreneurs from refining an idea to pitching it to investors and customers, using an AI-native digital workspace that combines Harvard’s teaching frameworks with purpose-built AI tools. The first cohort, which began in August 2026, is focused on deep tech founders, with more industries planned for future cohorts.
Tom Eisenmann, Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at HBS and Faculty Co-Chair of the Foundry program, noted that the AI was intentionally calibrated to avoid the sycophantic tendencies common in large language models. “Harvard Business School famously grades on a forced curve, and Foundry had to intentionally teach the A.I. to not be obsequious,” Eisenmann said.
How the AI Clones Work
The AI advisors are purpose-built for founders rather than general-purpose chatbots. According to the HBS Foundry FAQ, the AI clones are “tailored to help with startup questions using Harvard Business School-inspired tools and guidance,” and are designed to be “purpose-built for founders.”
The platform features multiple Harvard experts in a single conversation, pitch practice sessions with AI avatars, and structured agents and evaluation frameworks. The HBS Foundry website describes the experience as having “your AI co-founder who never sleeps.”
Faculty members involved include Jeff Bussgang, a venture capitalist and Senior Lecturer at HBS, whose AI clone was “personally trained” on all his books, HBS cases, blog posts, and other writings, as noted on his Delphi AI clone page. Other faculty participants include Shikhar Ghosh, Christina Wallace, Jim Matheson, and Reza Satchu.
Democratizing Access to Elite Business Education
A key aspect of the program is its accessibility. Harvard has tested the product with more than 100 universities across all 50 states, and the bootcamp is open to founders across universities and institutions, not just those at Harvard. This represents a significant step toward democratizing access to elite business education.
The program builds on Harvard Business School’s legacy of entrepreneurship. Between 2014 and 2025, HBS alumni launched 1,757 startups, including 1,906 founders who raised $84.6 billion in capital, according to the HBS Foundry website.
Founder-Friendly Terms
Foundry takes no equity in participating startups and does not claim ownership of intellectual property created or uploaded. Most founders spend 8-10 hours per week using the platform. The program also offers a pathway to funding: top founders can compete for $100,000 in funding at Harvard Business School through the Foundry Catalyst program planned for 2027.
The Startup Bootcamp page on HBS.edu emphasizes that no pitch deck, technical background, or prior startup experience is required, and the program is designed for aspiring and early-stage founders alike.
Implications for Higher Education
The launch of H.B.S. Foundry signals a significant shift in how elite institutions are approaching AI integration in education. Rather than treating AI as a supplement to traditional teaching, Harvard is deploying AI as a primary instructional vehicle, with real faculty members’ expertise encoded into interactive avatars.
The program also raises important questions about the future of business education. If AI clones of top professors can deliver Harvard-quality guidance at scale for $699, what does that mean for the value proposition of traditional MBA programs? The HBS Foundry LinkedIn page describes the initiative as part of a mission to strengthen the U.S. innovation ecosystem by equipping early-stage deep tech founders nationwide.
What to Watch For
The next bootcamp cohort is planned for October 2026, with applications currently open. The program’s expansion beyond deep tech into other industries will be a key indicator of its scalability. Additionally, the 2027 Foundry Catalyst program, which offers the $100,000 funding competition, will test whether AI-guided entrepreneurship can translate into real-world venture success.
As Jutsu, a cybersecurity startup accepted into the Foundry Deep Tech Bootcamp, noted, the program offers an opportunity to “sharpen our strategy, validate our market, improve our go-to-market motion, and learn from Harvard Business School.” The success of these early cohorts will determine whether AI-clone education becomes a permanent fixture in the landscape of entrepreneurial training.