Amazon, founded on July 5, 1994, by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, is an American multinational technology company that operates in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is one of the Big Five American technology companies, alongside Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple, Meta (Facebook’s parent company), and Microsoft.
Initially started as an online bookstore, Amazon quickly expanded its product range, earning the nickname “The Everything Store.” Today, it offers a vast array of products and services, making it a leading global retailer.
Amazon owns several subsidiaries, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud computing, Zoox for self-driving cars, Kuiper Systems for satellite internet, and Amazon Lab126 for computer hardware research and development. Other notable subsidiaries include Ring, Twitch, IMDb, and Whole Foods Market. The acquisition of Whole Foods in August 2017 for $13.4 billion significantly boosted Amazon’s presence as a physical retailer.
The company also provides a variety of digital content through its Amazon Prime Video, MGM+, Amazon Music, Twitch, Audible, and Wondery services. It publishes books through Amazon Publishing and produces film and television content via Amazon MGM Studios, which includes the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio acquired in March 2022. Additionally, Amazon owns Brilliance Audio and Audible, which are prominent in the audiobook industry, and it produces consumer electronics like Kindle e-readers, Echo devices, Fire tablets, and Fire TVs.
Amazon is known for disrupting industries with technological innovations and reinvesting profits into capital expenditures. As of 2023, it is the world’s largest online retailer, smart speaker provider, and cloud computing service provider through AWS. It has also become a leading live-streaming service with Twitch and the top internet company by revenue and market share. In 2021, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the largest retailer outside China, largely due to its Amazon Prime subscription service, which has nearly 200 million subscribers globally. It is the second-largest private employer in the United States and, as of October 2023, ranks as the 12th-most visited website in the world, with 82% of its traffic coming from the United States. Amazon leads in research and development spending, with an R&D budget of $73 billion in 2022.
However, Amazon has faced criticism for issues such as data privacy, work culture, censorship, tax practices, and anti-competitive behavior.
| Company Name | Amazon |
| Founders | Jeff Bezos |
| CEO (Current 2024) | Andy Jassy |
| Founded Year | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington and Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Services | e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence |
| Official Website | amazon.com |
History Of Amazon Company
Amazon was founded on July 5, 1994, by Jeff Bezos, who moved from New York City to Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle, to start an online bookstore. Bezos chose the Seattle area for its rich pool of tech talent from companies like Microsoft and the University of Washington, its lower sales tax, and its proximity to a major book distribution center in Roseburg, Oregon. He also considered Portland, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado, for this venture. Originally named Cadabra, the company was based in a converted garage at Bezos’s home. It was renamed Amazon in November 1994.
The Amazon website went live for public sales on July 16, 1995, initially selling books sourced from wholesalers and publishers. Amazon went public in May 1997. By 1998, it expanded its offerings to include music and videos and began international operations by acquiring online bookstores in the UK and Germany. The following year, Amazon broadened its product range to include items like music, video games, consumer electronics, home improvement products, software, and toys.
In 2002, Amazon launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), initially offering APIs for web developers to build applications on Amazon’s platform. By 2004, AWS included website popularity statistics and web crawler data through Alexa Web Information Service. AWS evolved to provide enterprise services with the launch of Simple Storage Service (S3) in 2006 and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) in 2008, which allowed businesses to rent data storage and computing power. In 2006, Amazon also introduced the Fulfillment by Amazon program, enabling individuals and small businesses to sell products through Amazon’s warehouses and logistics network.
In 2017, Amazon acquired the Whole Foods Market supermarket chain, further strengthening its presence in the retail sector. By 2017, Amazon had become the leading online retailer in the United States, with net sales of approximately $178 billion and over 300 million active customer accounts globally.
Also read:- Success History Of Flipkart
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon experienced significant growth and hired over 100,000 additional staff in the United States and Canada. However, this expansion led to protests by workers in the US, France, and Italy, who were concerned about the company’s handling of COVID-19 in its warehouses. In Spain, Amazon faced legal challenges related to its policies, and a group of US Senators expressed concerns about workplace safety in an open letter to Bezos.
On February 2, 2021, Jeff Bezos announced his decision to step down as CEO and transition to the role of executive chair of Amazon’s board. This change officially took effect on July 5, 2021, with Andy Jassy, the former CEO of AWS, taking over as CEO. In January 2023, Amazon reduced its workforce by over 18,000 employees, mainly in consumer retail and human resources, as part of a cost-cutting measure.
On November 8, 2023, Jeff Bezos announced a plan to sell about 50 million shares of Amazon over the next year, with the first sale of 12 million shares for approximately $2 billion. The full sales plan is set to be completed by January 31, 2025.
FAQs
1)Who is CEO of Amazon?
Ans:-Andy Jassy is CEO Of Amazon in 1994
2)How Founded Amazon?
Ans:- Jeff Bezos
3)When Amazon was started?
Ans:- In 1994
4)In Which Sector Amazon is engaged
Ans:- e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence
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