Amazon is known for its disruption of well-established industries through technological innovation and mass scale.[13][14][15] It is the world's largest online marketplace, AI assistant provider, live-streaming platform and cloud computing platform[16] as measured by revenue and market capitalization.[17] Amazon is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world.[18] It is the second largest private employer in the United States[19] and one of the world's most valuable companies.
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, on July 5, 1994. The company started as an online marketplace for books but 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.