Amazon.com, Inc.
Overview
Amazon is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington. It is one of the world's largest online marketplaces, AI assistant provider, and cloud computing platform as measured by revenue and market capitalization. Amazon is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world. It is the second largest private employer in the United States and one of the world's most valuable companies.
History
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, in July 1994. The company initially started as an online marketplace for books but later expanded to sell electronics, software, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market capitalization.
Business model
Amazon operates a mixed business model with a diversified portfolio of products and services. The company's primary business is the sale of goods and services, including those provided by many third-party sellers. Amazon has separate retail websites for some countries and also offers international shipping of some of its products to certain other countries.
Products and services
Amazon's product lines available at its website include several media (books, DVDs, music CDs, videotapes and software), apparel, baby products, consumer electronics, beauty products, gourmet food, groceries, health and personal-care items, industrial & scientific supplies, kitchen items, jewelry, watches, lawn and garden items, musical instruments, sporting goods, tools, automotive items and toys & games.
Amazon Web Services
AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon providing on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. In aggregate, these cloud computing web services provide a set of primitive abstract technical infrastructure and distributed computing building blocks and tools.
Criticism and controversies
Amazon has faced numerous criticisms and controversies over its business practices, including supply chain, labor practices, tax avoidance, anti-competitive behavior, and technological surveillance overreach.