Celebrating 30 Years of Amazon.com: From Bookstore to Global Tech Titan

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Today marks a remarkable milestone in internet history — the 30th anniversary of the launch of Amazon.com. What began as a modest online bookstore in Jeff Bezos’s Bellevue, WA garage has become one of the most influential companies in the world, revolutionizing the way we shop, read, compute, and even speak to our smart devices.

Here’s a look back at the incredible journey of Amazon — along with some surprising tidbits you may not know.

Amazon Through the Years: Key Milestones

1994 – Jeff Bezos founds “Cadabra, Inc.” in Washington state. He later renames it Amazon.com, inspired by the largest river in the world — and to show up early in alphabetical listings. Another name considered for the company was “Relentless.com”.
July 16, 1995 – Amazon.com goes live, selling its first book: Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies by Douglas Hofstadter.
1997 – Amazon goes public at $18 per share (split-adjusted to about $1.50 today). Many doubters called it “Amazon.bomb.”
1998 – Expands beyond books to include CDs and DVDs. Also quietly acquires IMDb, a move few understood at the time.
2000 – Launches the iconic smile logo with the arrow from A to Z, symbolizing a vast product range and customer satisfaction.
2002 – Rolls out Amazon Web Services (AWS), initially as a simple IT infrastructure service — now a cloud powerhouse.
2003 – Amazon reaches profitibility.
2005 – Launches Amazon Prime, offering 2-day shipping. At the time, it was considered risky and unprofitable.
2007 – Debuts the Kindle, changing the publishing industry forever.
2014 – Introduces Alexa and the Echo smart speaker, pushing into AI-powered home tech.
2017 – Acquires Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, making a bold push into grocery and physical retail.
2021 – Jeff Bezos steps down as CEO, naming Andy Jassy (former head of AWS) as his successor.
2025 – Amazon operates in over 20 countries and serves hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. And now it enters it’s 4th decade in operation.