Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and began as an online bookstore.
Bezos incorporated the company in July 1994, and the website opened in 1995. It initially sold books online because books offered a large catalogue that was difficult for a physical shop to stock completely. Amazon later expanded into electronics, household goods, digital media, logistics, devices, and cloud computing.
Amazon Web Services became a major part of the company’s business, but the company’s retail marketplace remains central to its public identity. Amazon also owns businesses such as Prime Video and Twitch.
Amazon is frequently compared with Alibaba because both operate large online-commerce ecosystems. They are separate companies: Amazon was founded in the United States, while Alibaba was founded in China in 1999. Market capitalization reflects investor expectations for Amazon’s combined retail, advertising, subscription, and cloud operations.