Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, was originally launched as an internet bookstore.
Bezos incorporated the company in Washington state in July 1994, initially using the name Cadabra before adopting Amazon. The website opened in 1995 and sold books because a digital catalog could offer far more titles than a typical physical shop.
Amazon soon expanded into music, electronics, household goods, and countless other categories. Its logistics network, marketplace model, Prime subscription, advertising operations, and Amazon Web Services transformed it from an online retailer into a broad technology and commerce company.
The company’s name refers to the Amazon River, suggesting scale and variety. Amazon is sometimes mistaken for a purely retail business, but cloud computing has become one of its most important and profitable divisions.