Business | Growing closer

What next for Amazon as it turns 30?

From Prime Video to AWS, the e-empire is stitching together its disparate parts

A photorealistic image of a bunch of ballons that spell out "Amazon" with a ballon in the shape of the Amazon logo beneath.
Illustration: Ricardo Rey
|SAN FRANCISCO

In the summer of 1994 a job vacancy for software engineers was posted on Usenet, an early precursor to online forums. The company in question planned to “pioneer commerce on the internet”. Eligible applicants needed to be capable of designing complex systems “in about one-third the time that most competent people think possible”. Résumés were to be addressed to Jeff Bezos at a Seattle-based startup named Cadabra.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Growing closer”

From the July 6th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Business

Protesters in favour of TikTok stand outside the United States Capitol.

TikTok’s time is up. Can Donald Trump save it?

The imperilled app hopes for help from an old foe

A tattooed man punches a large head, with motion lines and stars showing impact. He wears orange shorts.

The UFC, Dana White and the rise of bloodsport entertainment

There is more to the mixed-marital-arts impresario than his friendship with Donald Trump


A billboard welcoming the American electric car maker Tesla, in Monterrey, Mexico

Will Elon Musk scrap his plan to invest in a gigafactory in Mexico?

Donald Trump’s return to the White House may have changed Tesla’s plans


Germany is going nuts for Dubai chocolate

Will the hype last?

The year ahead: a message from the CEO

From the desk of Stew Pidd

One of the biggest energy IPOs in a decade could be around the corner

Venture Global, a large American gas exporter, is going public