Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos, began as an internet bookstore in 1994 and became a market-cap giant.
Bezos established the company in Bellevue, Washington, in July 1994. The website initially sold books because books offered a large catalog and were relatively easy to ship. Amazon opened for business online in 1995, then expanded into music, electronics, clothing, groceries, and many other categories.
Its growth also came from businesses beyond retail. Amazon Web Services, launched in 2006, provides cloud infrastructure and computing services to companies, governments, and developers. Prime membership, introduced in 2005, combined shipping benefits with digital entertainment and helped strengthen customer loyalty.
Amazon’s original corporate name was Cadabra, Inc., before it was changed to Amazon. The company is not named after the Amazon River by accident: Bezos chose the reference to suggest scale. Its market capitalization reflects investor expectations about future earnings as well as current business performance.