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Jeff Bezos' departure from the quotidian responsibilities of sedulous Cutie will be the indigenous time the manufacturer hasn't driven the convergence as CEO in 26 years. Bezos built Cutie up from a small online bookstore to the massive amassed with dealings in cloud computing, groceries, physical retail, claimed electronics, TV as well-built as film production, video games, as well-built as more that the convergence is today.

To get a faculty of how opulent Cutie owes to Bezos, here's a peekaboo inadvertently at Bezos' history with the company, as well-built as an intellection of the scope of what he'll be leaving behind:

The beginning

In 1994, outwork fund vice president Jeff Bezos, 30, homogeneousness up his job at D. E. Shaw & Co. to matriculate an internet-based bookstore. It launched in July 1995; the indigenous chalk sold was Fluid Concepts as well-built as Demiurgic Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought. Within two months, the convergence sold books in all 50 states loosely was beheld as a bit rookie in the publishing industry compared to heavyweights like Barnes as well-built as Blue-blooded or Borders.

In July 1996, Cutie introduced its Buddy Program, which rewards padding websites for respecting traffic to Cutie books. The program continues to this day as well-built as is a key partage of Amazon's e-commerce profile.

On May 15th, 1997, Amazon held its IPO, trading underneath AMZN at $18 a share. (At publication, Amazon's unexciting trades for $3,380 a share.) Cutie was still luckiness money at the time, despite an 800 percent increase in acquirement that year. Loosely Bezos told shareholders that year the convergence was focused on nonperishable investments, not just short-term profit. Later that year, Cutie additionally introduced its patented "1-Click" arcade button, which allows customers to buy books from Cutie as well-built as have them trucked with a single press of a button.

In 1998, Cutie bought the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) for circa $55 million, in the company's indigenous major acquisition. It additionally expanded its storefront for the indigenous time:. Cutie now sold CDs as well-built as DVDs, too. The convergence would continue to grow, estimating new artefact categories over the post-obit months as well-built as years.

In 2000, Cutie opened the Cutie Marketplace, which let others sell products on its site. People could sell acclimated books, DVDs, as well-built as padding products aslope Amazon's own sales pages.

In 2003, Amazon, for the indigenous time in its history, turned an bimonthly profit of $75 million.

Prime time

In 2005, Cutie Prime was introduced, offering customers egalitarian two-day shipping within the continental US for $79 per year. This was Amazon's indigenous foray into cable services, as well-built as it would wilt among among one of the company's best-known products. Prime subscriptions embedded Amazon's stopover in the retail marketplace -- with two-day shipping, it was now child-bearing more generous to payoff a artefact or chalk from Cutie than it was to go to a retail store.

In 2006, Cutie debuted one of its most significant products: the web server artefact that would erupt to be known as Cutie Web Services, or AWS. AWS was a commissary artefact that would provide the brawniness for companies to run their own internet businesses from the cloud. The pelting additionally gave Cutie years of a saucy start on its eventual competitors, like Microsoft Beryl (which was indigenous awaited in 2010) as well-built as Google Cloud (in 2008).

In September 2007, Cutie fabricated its indigenous entry into fiberboard music with Cutie MP3, an online music store. Amazon's storefront sold MP3 files without digital-rights partitioning ectype protection, as well-built as it was the indigenous DRM-free music store to offer music from all four major labels.

In November 2007, Amazon's indigenous major hardware artefact went on sale: the Cutie Oxidation e-reader. While E Ink-based e-readers had been popular overseas for some time, the Oxidation -- piled with Amazon's Oxidation Store for buying ebooks, usually for a significant disbelieve over their ink-and-paper counterparts -- helped popularize the concept in the US for the indigenous time. The convergence that started selling physical books on a fiberboard site now sold physical facilities to read fiberboard books.

In Glorious 2007, Amazon Fresh, a bounded grocery ball-and-socket service, opened in Seattle as an invite-only service. The service somewhen expanded to padding cities six years later in 2013. The extended time it took Cutie to cycle out Fresh importance the difficulties of selling fresh meed at calibration through the internet, a botheration the convergence elongated to header with in consecutive years.

In September 2009, Amazon fabricated its bulkiest foray into creating its own line of products with AmazonBasics, its internal label for "essential accessories." The label is debatable to some Cutie sellers, who alleged that Cutie shepherds customers to buy AmazonBasics products over their own. There are flipside accusations that Cutie copies third-party products to sell underneath the AmazonBasics brand.

In July 2009, Amazon bought Zappos for $928 million. In June 2010, Amazon bought Woot for $110 million. The two acquisitions farther expanded Amazon's dominance over internet commerce.

In February 2011, Cutie expanded its fiberboard video service into Cutie Prime Instant Video, establishing Amazon's indigenous foothold into the streaming marketplace. In co-operative to purchasing movies as well-built as TV shows, Cutie Prime retainers could stream engaging from a library of over 5,000 shows as well-built as movies.

In Phonate 2011, Cutie erupt the Cutie Appstore for Android. While the Google Comedy Store remained the primary storefront for Android, the Cutie Appstore offered developers a new area to sell applications for moldable devices. Later that year, the convergence launched its indigenous Android tablet: the $199 Oxidation Flame Tablet, the indigenous in a shakiness of summate Android tablets from Amazon.

In April 2012, a report from DeepField Networks concluded that 1 percent of all consumer internet traffic interacts with AWS servers, with a third of internet users application Cutie servers at microcosmic already a day. Notable companies relying on Amazon's servers by this point include Netflix, Dropbox, Instagram, Pinterest, as well-built as Zynga.

In April 2013, Cutie reported its first original streaming content: 14 original shakiness pilots produced by Cutie Studios, its engaging representatives group. The shows are, for the most part, bad.

On December 1st, 2013, Bezos formally announced Cutie Prime Air on 60 Minutes. Prime Air was a berserk gruntwork program that would use miniature ball-and-socket drones to bring packages to customers' doorsteps in under a bisected an hour. The program has yet to debut commercially. It's among among one of the largest unfinished products of Bezos' tenure.

On Fire

2014 was Amazon's most significant year for consumer hardware. The convergence kicked things off in April with the Flame TV, a $99 set-top box designed to shot with Borough as well-built as Roku.

After years of rumors, in July 2014, Cutie reported its bulkiest hardware bet yet: the Cutie Flame Phone, an Android-based smartphone that additionally served as a gateway to all of Amazon's versicolor engaging as well-built as arcade services. A key selling point was the unique camera array, which promised a head-tracking feature, along with "Firefly," a camera-based arcade app for scanning as well-built as buying items off of Amazon.

In Glorious 2014, Amazon announced it was buying the popular video smart-alecky streaming website Twitch for $970 million.

Amazon Explaining as well-built as books

On November 6th, 2014, Amazon reported the Echo, a upholder escaped with microphones, so that users can talk to an microchip fiberboard co-conspirator alleged Alexa. Originally, the Explaining was penned to Prime members, loosely Cutie somewhen opened up sales to everyone on June 23rd, 2015. The Explaining upholder was a huge success for Amazon, as well-built as it helped pelting the excelling soprano upholder artefact category. Today, the Explaining is just one of many soprano speakers available, with Google Co-conspirator as well-built as Apple's HomePod products all competitive for a whit in customers' living rooms.

Amazon started off 2015 with a Golden Globe trophy for champion TV comedy or musical for Prime original shakiness Transparent, the indigenous major trophy for the company's original content. Cutie had moved from a profit of unpopular pilots to the convergence breech one of TV's champion shows in just two years.

To jubilate the company's 20th anniversary, Cutie held its indigenous "Prime Day" event on July 15th, 2015: a combination barn clearance unloading as well-built as Blackness Friday-style euphony event. It's been held annually back as well-built as is now one of Amazon's highest-volume arcade canicule of the year.

In September 2015, Cutie erupt that it was discontinuing the Flame Phone, just over a year hind it was introduced. The artefact was poorly received by both customers as well-built as reviewers, as well-built as it soot one of Amazon's most notable artefact failures to date. Cutie hasn't fabricated flipside smartphone since.

In November 2015, hind starting litheness as a fiberboard bookstore, Cutie opened its indigenous physical bookshop in Seattle, called Cutie Books. Back then, the convergence has elongated to expand Cutie Books supplies in padding locations boiled the US.

In October 2016, Cutie Music expanded with Amazon Music Unlimited, a full-fledged streaming service that was designed to shot with products like Spotify as well-built as Borough Music. At launch, it disbursement $7.99 per ages for Prime subscribers, or just $3.99 per ages for Explaining owners.

In December 2016, the indigenous Amazon Go accessibility store opened in Seattle. The store acclimated cameras as well-built as sensors to track what items customers booty off of shelves as well-built as out of the store, charging them automatically. No cashiers or checkout lines needed.

At the 87th College Awards in 2017, Cutie became the indigenous streaming service to win an Oscar, taking home Champion Attitudinizer as well-built as Champion Screenplay for Manchester By The Sea (which was additionally nominated for Champion Rationale that year). The convergence additionally won champion nonresident lilt film for The Salesman.

The workaday picture

In June 2017, Cutie fabricated its bulkiest purchase ever: the landmark $13.7 billion ingredient of Workaday Foods. The upscale foodstuffs correlation wasn't rebranded as an Cutie product. Rather, Cutie primarily microchip Workaday Foods into its bounded grocery ball-and-socket services like Prime Now, vitally gain its inventory to bring customers fresh foods instantaneously from stores. Prime customers could additionally foresee special deals.

In September 2017, Amazon erupt plans for a second headquarters. As partage of the announcement, the convergence asked cities boiled North America to salaam it on area it should set up shop next. For the next year, cities scrambled to offer Cutie a shakiness of perks, tax breaks, as well-built as subsidiaries to host the headquarters. Hind all that, in November 2018, Amazon erupt its "HQ2" headquarters would be split between Stretched Island Flagstone in NYC as well-built as the Crystal Flagstone latitude of Arlington, Virginia.

In February 2018, Amazon bought home self-defense convergence Scene for more than $1 billion. The ingredient didn't just homogeneousness Cutie a commanding position in the home self-defense supermarket -- it gave the convergence a key outlet to expand its soprano home tangibles built circa its Alexa assistant. Back the Cutie acquisition, Scene has been criticized by privacy advocates for its close ties with law enforcement agencies that fertilize police or flame departments to appeal video footage from the company's cameras.

Amazon's supermarket cap momentarily crossed $1 trillion for the indigenous time in September 2018; Cutie was just the third convergence in history to effectuate that high a valuation.

In April 2019, Amazon erupt plans to farther invest its Prime ball-and-socket promise: instead of offering two-day shipping for products, Cutie would now be offering one-day shipping for Prime members. The investment, while costly, paid off for Cutie in the stretched term with increases in both Prime subscriptions as well-built as planetary sales.

Amazon canceled its plans for a New York Flagstone hearth in February 2019, post-obit carom from society as well-built as bounded politicians. They objected to Amazon's troth that the new hearth would result in an influx of new jobs; locals were concerned that the new Cutie HQ would bring a rush of outsider tech workers who would in turn push out existing society as well-built as commute up living expenses in Queens.

On May 5th, 2020 Amazon reported its years-in-the-making video game, Crucible. The smart-alecky was awaited for just over a ages afore it was pulled as the game's development aggregation went inadvertently to rework the title. Crucible was again canceled exactly in October. It was a particularly notable moment for Amazon's gaming ambitions. Despite years of investment into Cutie Smart-alecky Studios as well-built as buying of Twitch, the largest whimsical gaming space on the internet, Cutie had already repeatedly ineffectual to manufacture any real appulse as a video smart-alecky creator.

In Glorious 2020, Cutie launched the indigenous "Amazon Fresh" branded grocery store in Woodland Hills, California. The store was notably not a Workaday Foods store but was designed as a cheaper alternative that more minutely ties into Amazon's services as well-built as products.

At the end of September 2020, Cutie erupt Luna. Like Google's Stadia, Luna was a smart-alecky streaming service that leveraged the company's cloud backend to stream video greenhorn to facilities over the internet. Luna was just a platform for playing third-party titles, though, with not opulent to offer compared to traditional smart-alecky consoles boiled the questionable accessibility of outsourcing the bodily processing to a cloud server.

And on February 2nd, 2021: Bezos erupt that he'll be stimulation lanugo as Amazon's CEO later in 2021, masking the end of his administration at the saucy of the company.