Amazon's history dates back to 1994, when Jeff Bezos founded the company in his garage in Bellevue, Washington.
Early Days
Initially, Amazon focused on selling books online, but Bezos had bigger plans. He envisioned a platform where customers could find and purchase anything they needed, from books to electronics, all in one place.
In July 1995, Amazon launched its website and began selling books to customers across the United States. The company quickly gained popularity, and by the end of 1995, Amazon had sold books to customers in all 50 states.
Key Milestones
- In 1997, Amazon went public, raising $54 million in its initial public offering (IPO).
- In 2002, Amazon acquired Zappos, a leading online shoe retailer.
- In 2006, Amazon launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which would eventually become a major player in the cloud computing market.
Today, Amazon is the world's largest e-commerce platform, with a market value of over $1 trillion. The company continues to innovate and expand its offerings, from artificial intelligence to drone delivery.