Amazon launched its online bookstore in 1995 before expanding into cloud computing and retail.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in Bellevue, Washington, in 1994, originally naming the business Cadabra. The company opened its website in July 1995 as an online bookseller. Bezos chose books because the enormous number of titles made a physical-store inventory impossible to match.
Amazon later added music, video, electronics, household goods and marketplace services. Its business also expanded beyond retail: Amazon Web Services, launched in the mid-2000s, became a major provider of on-demand computing, storage and database infrastructure.
The company is often confused with Alibaba because both operate major online marketplaces. Amazon’s headquarters are in Seattle, while Alibaba was founded in China. Amazon also owns brands and services including Prime Video, Kindle and Audible, but its original public identity was an internet bookseller.