Orlando’s uBreakiFix teams with Samsung

An Orlando-based technology repair service will form a partnership with one of the largest phone manufacturers in the world.

Samsung Electronics America, the makers of the Galaxy line of smartphones, announced that more than 300 uBreakiFix stores have been authorized to repair its products.

That number is expected to grow to near 500 by early next year.

The authorization means the locations will have access to Samsung parts and proprietary repair tools. In addition, technicians will be certified by Samsung to fix the South Korean company’s phones. The stores will be authorized to repair the Galaxy 6 and later phones, along with the Galaxy Note 5 and Note 8.

uBreakiFix, which has its headquarters in downtown Orlando, has more than 250 stores across the country. uBreakIFix grew out of a bedroom in Central Florida in 2009 to become a nationwide chain. team will pick eighth in its inaugural draft in April.

Officials for the NBA 2K18 league, which will field 17 six-player teams in competitive play against each other, announced the draft order on social media Tuesday.

The teams will select from a draft pool of 250 players April 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Players will be paid a salary of $32,000, with firstround picks expected to earn $35,000 a year, and be housed in the city represented by the team.

The Dallas Mavericks will select first, followed by the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz.

Three Central Florida tech professionals will join others from around the state on an annual “Faces of Technology” list distributed by the Florida High Tech Corridor.

Abe A.I. CEO Robert Guilfoyle, data scientist Michael Moskal II and senior software engineer Derrick Sines landed on the list, which was first publicized in the Corridor’s annual magazine.

In a release, Corridor President Ed Schons said the trio has contributed to the region’s tech ecosystem in a positive way.

“These brilliant minds embody the talent that makes our 23-county region an ideal place for research, discovery and business development,” he said in a release.

Guilfoyle’s Orlandobased financial tech company has designed artificial intelligence-based software and mobile products for the banking industry.

Abe is a finance-focused “chatbot” adopted by some banks answers customers’ questions or provide them with account information.

Sines, meanwhile, is a senior software engineer for Riptide Software in Oviedo. The company builds simulation products for the military that help training exercises be more efficient through customizable programs.

Moskal is a senior data scientist in Melbourne for a company that works closely with the defense and intelligence industries.

The trio is among nine people named to the Corridor’s annual list.