Amazon founded Amazon Web Services, the cloud business launched in 2006.
Amazon Web Services began by offering simple infrastructure services, including storage and computing power, through the internet. Its launch helped popularize cloud computing as an on-demand alternative to buying and maintaining physical servers.
Amazon.com was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore. The company expanded into many retail categories before developing major businesses in logistics, digital media, devices, advertising, and cloud services.
Amazon is often discussed among the world's most valuable companies by market capitalization, but its retail and cloud operations have different financial drivers. AWS primarily earns revenue from businesses and organizations that use computing, databases, storage, analytics, and related services.