Amazon operates the online marketplace that began as an internet bookstore in 1994.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in Bellevue, Washington, in July 1994, initially naming the company Cadabra. It launched as an online bookstore in 1995, offering a much larger selection than most physical bookshops could stock.
The company later expanded into electronics, clothing, groceries, digital media, and logistics. Amazon Web Services, launched in 2006, became a major cloud-computing business and a significant contributor to the company's growth and profitability.
Amazon's original name was changed after Bezos decided that “Amazon” sounded more expansive and was associated with the world's largest river. The business is therefore much broader today than its original retail category.