2026-08-24 / Signal #4
Harvard is selling a $699 startup bootcamp whose pitch coaches are AI clones of its real professors
“Your Harvard pitch coach is a $699 deepfake of a real professor.”
The Story
HBS Foundry’s eight-week program still has weekly live sessions, but the people giving real-time feedback on practice pitches and board meetings are HeyGen avatars of actual Harvard instructors (including a well-known VC). Students pay $699 to be coached by digital copies of the faculty.
Why It Matters
Elite institutions just productized their professors as on-demand clones. Teaching, authority, and “who is in the room” just got weird.
Evidence
TechCrunch + NYT, 22 Aug 2026
Sources
Daily scan: 2026-08-24