Amazon operates AWS, the cloud-computing business that helped diversify the company beyond online retail.
Amazon Web Services launched in 2006, offering infrastructure such as computing power, storage, and databases over the internet. Instead of buying and maintaining all its own servers, customers can rent capacity and scale it as their needs change. AWS serves businesses, governments, developers, and research organizations.
Amazon began in 1994 as an online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos. It expanded into many product categories, logistics, digital media, devices, advertising, and cloud services. That broader business mix is one reason investors assess Amazon as more than a conventional retailer.
AWS is a business division, not a separate publicly traded company. Its revenue and operating results are included in Amazon’s financial reporting. Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are major competitors, but AWS remains one of the defining assets associated with Amazon’s valuation.