Amazon was originally incorporated as Cadabra in 1994 before becoming a global e-commerce giant.
Jeff Bezos incorporated the business in Washington state in July 1994 under the name Cadabra. The name was soon changed to Amazon after a lawyer misheard it as “cadaver,” and because Bezos wanted a name suggesting exceptional scale.
Amazon began as an online bookstore. Its website opened in July 1995, initially selling books before expanding into music, electronics, household goods, cloud computing, streaming, and logistics.
Amazon's growth helped make it one of the world's highest-market-capitalization companies. Amazon Web Services became especially important because it developed into a major cloud-computing business. A common mix-up is the founding date: the company was incorporated in 1994, but its online store launched in 1995.