Amazon Timeline

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From a Seattle garage bookstore to one of the world's largest companies: Amazon's founding, IPO, Prime, AWS, Kindle, Whole Foods, and the handoff from Jeff Bezos to Andy Jassy.

📅 20 events1994-2025Updated Oct 2026
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Jul 5, 1994

Bezos incorporates Cadabra

Jeff Bezos incorporates the company in Washington state as Cadabra, Inc., soon renamed Amazon.com.

Jul 16, 1995

Amazon.com opens for business

The site launches as 'Earth's Biggest Bookstore,' selling books online from Seattle.

May 15, 1997

Amazon IPO

Amazon goes public on NASDAQ at $18 per share, valuing the young bookseller around $438 million.

Jun 1, 1998

Beyond books

Amazon expands into music, video, toys, and electronics, pursuing the 'everything store' vision.

Nov 1, 2000

Marketplace opens to sellers

Third-party sellers can list alongside Amazon's own goods - today more than half of units sold.

Jan 22, 2002

First profitable quarter

Amazon reports its first net profit ($5M, Q4 2001), silencing dot-com-bust doubters.

Feb 2, 2005

Amazon Prime launches

Prime debuts at $79/year for unlimited two-day shipping, becoming the engine of customer loyalty.

Mar 14, 2006

AWS launches S3 and EC2

Amazon Web Services opens S3 storage and EC2 computing, creating the modern cloud industry.

Nov 19, 2007

Kindle debuts

The first Kindle e-reader sells out in hours and transforms book publishing.

Jul 22, 2009

Zappos acquisition

Amazon announces a ~$1.2B deal for shoe retailer Zappos, its biggest acquisition to date.

Mar 19, 2012

Kiva robots join warehouses

Amazon buys Kiva Systems for $775M, beginning the large-scale robotic automation of its fulfillment centers.

Nov 6, 2014

Echo and Alexa announced

The Echo smart speaker introduces the Alexa voice assistant, opening a new product category.

Jun 16, 2017

Whole Foods acquired

Amazon announces and closes its $13.7B purchase of Whole Foods Market, a leap into physical grocery.

Sep 4, 2018

$1 trillion market cap

Amazon briefly tops a $1 trillion valuation, the second US public company to do so.

Nov 13, 2018

HQ2 decision

After a high-profile contest among 238 cities, Amazon picks Arlington, Virginia (and initially New York) for HQ2.

Mar 1, 2020

Pandemic surge

COVID-19 lockdowns drive record demand; Amazon hires hundreds of thousands of workers in months.

Jul 5, 2021

Jassy succeeds Bezos as CEO

Andy Jassy, founder of AWS, becomes CEO exactly 27 years after incorporation; Bezos moves to executive chair.

Mar 17, 2022

MGM acquisition closes

Amazon completes its $8.5B purchase of the MGM film studio, bulking up Prime Video.

Jun 6, 2022

20-for-1 stock split

Amazon's first stock split since 1999 takes effect, lowering the per-share price from over $2,000.

Apr 28, 2025

Project Kuiper satellites launch

Amazon launches the first production satellites for its Kuiper broadband constellation, rivaling Starlink.