Which venture capital firm made the first institutional investment in Amazon in 1996?

Kleiner Perkins made the first institutional investment in Amazon in 1996.

In June 1996, two funds managed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers invested approximately $8 million in Amazon preferred stock. The deal was Amazon’s first major institutional venture investment and brought Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr into the company’s orbit. Doerr later joined Amazon’s board and helped recruit senior executives.

Amazon had launched as an online bookseller in 1995, founded by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington. The 1996 financing gave Bezos room to expand infrastructure, marketing, and management before the company went public. Amazon’s initial public offering followed on May 15, 1997, when shares began trading under the symbol AMZN.

The wording “first institutional investment” matters because Amazon had already received earlier outside money from angels and private investors. Kleiner Perkins was not the first source of any external capital; it was the first major venture capital institution to invest. That distinction explains why accounts may mention both 1995 angel financing and the 1996 Kleiner Perkins round.