Amazon Web Services

Corporate brand

Amazon's global cloud computing platform, providing infrastructure, platform, database, analytics, machine-learning, storage, and related services.

Last updated November 4, 2026

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First read: Oct 29, 2026
Latest read: Nov 1, 2026

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Overview

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the cloud computing platform and technology-services business of Amazon.com, Inc. It supplies on-demand computing infrastructure and higher-level software services to startups, enterprises, public-sector organizations, developers, media companies, financial institutions, and other customers worldwide. Rather than requiring customers to purchase and operate all of their own servers and data-center equipment, AWS allows them to obtain resources through the internet and generally pay according to usage, contracted commitments, or service plans. AWS grew out of Amazon's effort to standardize and expose the reusable infrastructure that supported its own retail website. Amazon had developed internal capabilities for storage, computing, databases, networking, and application deployment, and in the early 2000s began offering web services to outside developers. The modern AWS platform took shape in 2006 with the launch of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). These services helped establish an infrastructure-as-a-service model in which customers could provision storage and virtual servers without building a conventional data center first. The platform has since expanded into a broad portfolio. Core infrastructure includes EC2 virtual machines, Elastic Container Service, Elastic Kubernetes Service, AWS Lambda serverless computing, and networking tools such as Amazon Virtual Private Cloud. Storage and data services include S3, Elastic Block Store, Glacier, and a wide range of relational, NoSQL, in-memory, and analytical databases. AWS also offers security, identity, monitoring, developer tools, content delivery, edge computing, migration, high-performance computing, Internet of Things, and industry-specific solutions. Artificial intelligence and machine learning have become increasingly important to AWS's positioning. Amazon SageMaker provides tools for developing and deploying machine-learning models, while Amazon Bedrock gives developers managed access to generative-AI foundation models and supporting application capabilities. AWS also develops purpose-built silicon, including Graviton processors and Trainium and Inferentia chips, intended to improve the cost and performance of cloud workloads. AWS operates through a global infrastructure of regions, availability zones, data centers, and edge locations. Customers can design systems for resilience, regulatory requirements, latency, and geographic redundancy. The AWS Marketplace extends the platform with third-party software and services, while a large partner network supports consulting, migration, integration, and managed operations. The brand is positioned around breadth, scalability, reliability, security, and a consumption-based operating model. Its customers range from small developers deploying individual applications to multinational corporations running core enterprise workloads. AWS is a separately managed business within Amazon, but its financial results are reported by Amazon rather than through a separately traded company. The supplied industry classification of energy and oil-and-gas companies does not fit the subject; AWS belongs to cloud computing and enterprise information technology.

History

AWS developed from Amazon's internal technology infrastructure. As Amazon's online retail operation expanded, engineers created reusable services for storage, computing, databases, and application deployment. The company increasingly treated these capabilities as standardized building blocks rather than systems usable only by Amazon's retail business. This approach supported the idea that external developers could rent infrastructure through application programming interfaces instead of purchasing hardware and managing physical facilities. Amazon began introducing web services to outside users in the early 2000s. Reference material places an initial AWS presence in 2002, when the business offered services connected with Amazon's catalog and developer infrastructure. The more consequential transformation occurred in 2006, when Amazon launched S3 and EC2. S3 provided durable, internet-accessible object storage, while EC2 allowed customers to obtain virtual computing capacity on demand. Together they helped popularize cloud infrastructure as a practical alternative to owning fixed server capacity. The early AWS proposition appealed particularly to startups and software developers, who could experiment and scale without large up-front capital expenditure. Over time, AWS added services for networking, databases, application deployment, security, monitoring, content distribution, analytics, and enterprise migration. The platform's architecture allowed customers to combine relatively independent services, while regional infrastructure and availability zones supported high availability and geographic deployment choices. AWS became increasingly important to Amazon's corporate strategy. It extended Amazon's technology expertise into a business serving organizations beyond retail and created recurring usage-based revenue. Amazon expanded AWS's customer and partner ecosystem through training, certifications, consulting relationships, and AWS Marketplace, where third parties distribute software and services compatible with the platform. The company also invested in specialized hardware and global data-center capacity to improve performance, security, and economics. Leadership of the business changed as AWS matured. Andy Jassy led AWS during its formative period and later became Amazon's chief executive. Adam Selipsky succeeded him as AWS chief executive in 2021, and Matt Garman became AWS chief executive in 2024. During this period the business broadened its emphasis from basic infrastructure to data, machine learning, generative AI, custom processors, industry solutions, and privacy-oriented data collaboration. AWS's current scope spans infrastructure as a service, platform services, managed databases, storage, analytics, artificial intelligence, security, edge computing, developer tooling, and third-party software distribution. It remains a brand and operating business within Amazon rather than an independently listed company. The subject should therefore be classified as a cloud-computing corporate brand, not as an energy or oil-and-gas company.

2024
Matt Garman becomes AWS CEO
[2]AWS CEO leadership announcementaws.amazon.com
Matt Garman succeeded Adam Selipsky as chief executive of AWS.
2023
Amazon Bedrock introduced
[7]Amazon.com overviewbritannica.com
AWS introduced Bedrock to help developers build generative-AI applications using managed foundation models.
2021
Adam Selipsky becomes AWS CEO
[3]Adam Selipsky to retire as AWS CEOaboutamazon.com
Adam Selipsky returned to Amazon to lead AWS after Andy Jassy became Amazon chief executive.
2006
Launch of Amazon S3 and Amazon EC2
[1]Cloud Computing Services — Amazon Web Servicesaws.amazon.com
AWS introduced object storage through Amazon S3 and on-demand virtual computing through Amazon EC2, establishing the foundation of its cloud infrastructure business.
2002
Early Amazon Web Services offerings
[7]Amazon.com overviewbritannica.com
Amazon began offering external web services associated with its technology and developer infrastructure, preceding the modern AWS cloud platform.

Products and positioning

A broad, global cloud infrastructure and platform-services provider emphasizing scalable, pay-as-you-go technology, enterprise security, ecosystem breadth, and developer flexibility.

Cloud computing · 2006
Amazon EC2
A service providing resizable virtual computing capacity. Customers can select instance types, operating systems, networking configurations, and pricing models for workloads ranging from development environments to large-scale production applications.
Cloud storage · 2006
Amazon S3
An object-storage service designed for durable storage and retrieval of data at internet scale. It is used for application assets, backups, data lakes, media, archives, and machine-learning data.
Database services · 2009
Amazon RDS
A managed relational-database service that automates or simplifies provisioning, maintenance, backups, scaling, and high-availability configurations for supported database engines.
Serverless computing · 2014
AWS Lambda
An event-driven compute service that runs code without requiring customers to provision or manage servers. It is commonly used for APIs, automation, data processing, and application back ends.
Machine learning · 2017
Amazon SageMaker
A managed environment for preparing data, developing machine-learning models, training them, and deploying them for inference and production use.
Generative artificial intelligence · 2023
Amazon Bedrock
A managed generative-AI service that provides access to foundation models and development capabilities for applications that generate or analyze text, images, and other content.
Software marketplace · 2012
AWS Marketplace
A catalog and procurement channel through which customers discover, evaluate, and acquire third-party software, data, and professional services that can be deployed with AWS.

Controversies

2026
Amazon publishes blog urging support for AI data centers amid community backlash
On October 2, 2026, Amazon published a blog by AWS CEO Matt Garman addressing public concerns about the impact of AI data centers on jobs, power demands, and the environment. The blog warned that more than 100 data center moratoriums under consideration across the US could cause lasting harm to the US economy and national security. It codified a 'Data Center Commitment' covering job creation, preventing increases to local energy rates, and a pledge to invest more than $1 billion to support communities neighboring its data centers. Amazon also said it no longer uses nondisclosure agreements with government agencies, after Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin probed tech companies about secret deals with local officials.
Source
2021
AWS investigates discrimination complaints after employee petition
Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky launched an investigation into the division’s culture after employees signed a petition alleging systemic discrimination, harassment, bullying and bias in its Professional Services organization.
Source
2019
AWS sued over alleged biometric privacy violations
A complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges that Amazon Web Services violated Illinois biometric privacy requirements by storing biometric information for a commercial customer without providing required notice or obtaining informed consent. The allegations are presented as claims in a lawsuit and are not presented as a court determination. The complaint concerns the storage of biometric information on behalf of a commercial customer under Illinois biometric privacy rules.
Source

2025AWS is How — Proven
United States · United Kingdom · International
A global brand campaign used customer stories to illustrate how AWS supports innovation in areas such as autonomous parking, large-scale game delivery, and motorsport technology. Its modular production format allowed scenes and customer examples to be adapted for different markets.
Outcome. The campaign was scheduled to run across television, social media, and out-of-home channels, with expansion from the United States into additional markets.
Source
2023AWS for Advertising and Marketing
Global
AWS introduced an industry initiative combining AWS services, partner solutions, and privacy-oriented data collaboration for advertising and marketing workloads, including measurement, analytics, customer experience, and audience use cases.
Outcome. The initiative positioned AWS as infrastructure and analytics support for advertising organizations rather than only as a general-purpose hosting provider.
Source

Brand decisions

2024
Change AWS chief executiveOther
Background
Adam Selipsky announced his departure after leading AWS, requiring Amazon to appoint new operating leadership for the cloud business.
Action taken
Matt Garman became chief executive of AWS.
Aftermath
The leadership transition maintained continuity while placing a long-serving AWS executive at the head of the business.
Source
2023
Expand into managed generative-AI application servicesProduct launch
Background
Businesses and developers increasingly sought managed access to foundation models and tools for integrating generative AI into software products.
Action taken
AWS introduced Amazon Bedrock, offering managed access to foundation models and related application-development capabilities.
Aftermath
The move broadened AWS's AI portfolio and intensified its competition in cloud-based generative-AI infrastructure and application services.
Source
2006
Launch a public cloud infrastructure platformProduct launch
Background
Amazon had developed reusable internal infrastructure for its retail operations and identified demand for flexible computing and storage among external developers and businesses.
Action taken
Amazon launched Amazon S3 and Amazon EC2, allowing customers to obtain storage and virtual computing capacity through internet-based services.
Aftermath
The launch established the modern AWS platform and supported the wider adoption of usage-based cloud infrastructure.
Source

Recent events

2026.10.29
Reported2026.10.29
AWS reports third-quarter 2026 results[15]AWS公布2026年第三季度业绩cnbc.com
Amazon Web Services reported third-quarter revenue of $45.98 billion, up 39% year over year, and operating income of $17.77 billion, up 55%.
2026.10.26
Reported2026.10.26
Verizon and AWS sign AI infrastructure deal[16]Verizon与AWS签署人工智能基础设施协议cnbc.com
Verizon signed an AI infrastructure deal worth more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services. Verizon will provide high-capacity fiber-optic connectivity for AWS data centers to support faster data transfers for AI computing workloads.
2026.10.20
Reported2026.10.20
Amazon Web Services announces ISV Global Expansion Accelerator[17]亚马逊云科技发布ISV出海加速器计划cloud.it168.com
Amazon Web Services announced its ISV Global Expansion Accelerator, a structured program intended to help eligible independent software developers expand their business globally.
2026.10.19
Reported2026.10.19
AWS releases TorchNeuron developer tool[18]AWS发布TorchNeuron开发者工具techcrunch.com
Amazon Web Services released TorchNeuron, a tool that lets AI startups move PyTorch apps onto Amazon’s Trainium chip by changing one line of configuration, according to Amazon.
Unconfirmed
Reported2026.10.11
Southwest Airlines launches first-of-its-kind US airline plugin in ChatGPT for flight discovery and shopping[19]西南航空在ChatGPT中推出美国航司首创插件，支持航班发现与购票futuretravelexperience.com
Southwest Airlines has launched a first-of-its-kind US airline plugin in ChatGPT, developed with OpenAI and Amazon Web Services (AWS), enabling travellers to discover and shop for Southwest flights through AI-powered travel planning. The airline describes it as the first phase of its AI-powered booking strategy, aiming to engage customers earlier in their journey and build a secure, scalable foundation for future AI capabilities.
2026.10.10
Amazon Web Services and Yao Foundation jointly launch 'Cloud Basketball Blueprint' sports × technology education program[20]亚马逊云科技与姚基金共同推出“云上篮图”体育×科技育人计划news.e-works.net.cn
On October 10, 2026, Amazon Web Services announced a joint public-welfare program with the Beijing Yao Foundation called '云上篮图' (Cloud Basketball Blueprint), under which AWS will contribute USD 1 million in cash plus cloud and AI technology resources. The program will bring AWS's global Breaking Barriers innovation initiative to China for the first time, supporting university talent training, hackathons, deployment of AI teaching tools in 100 grassroots schools, and the Yao Foundation Basketball Season.
Unconfirmed
Reported2026.10.09
UOB signs MOU with Amazon Web Services on AI-driven banking innovation in ASEAN[21]大华银行与亚马逊云科技签署谅解备忘录，探索东盟地区AI驱动的银行业创新finance.sina.com.cn
United Overseas Bank (UOB) signed a memorandum of understanding with Amazon Web Services to explore AI-driven banking innovation in the ASEAN region.
2026.10.09
Reported2026.10.09
Tech companies pledge $2.4 billion in computing resources to White House Genesis Mission[22]科技公司为白宫“Genesis Mission”认捐24亿美元算力资源ianslive.in
At the White House 'Science: A New Golden Age' Summit on October 9, 2026, the Trump administration unveiled more than $6 billion in science and technology initiatives, including $2.4 billion in computing resources and technology support from 11 industry partners for the Genesis Mission, which seeks to use superintelligence to accelerate scientific discoveries. Nvidia committed $1 billion, AMD $500 million, OpenAI $200 million, and Anthropic and Google $150 million each, with Amazon Web Services and Micron among the other participants.
2026.10.02
Reported2026.10.02
Amazon publishes blog urging support for AI data centers amid community backlash[8]Amazon publishes blog urging support for AI data centers amid community backlashtheverge.com
On October 2, 2026, Amazon published a more than 3,000-word blog by AWS CEO Matt Garman pushing back on public concerns about the impact of AI data centers on jobs, power demands, and the environment, warning that more than 100 data center moratoriums under consideration across the US could cause lasting harm to the US economy and national security. The memorandum codifies a 'Data Center Commitment' covering job creation, preventing increases to local energy rates, and a pledge to invest more than $1 billion to support communities neighboring its data centers. Amazon also said it no longer uses nondisclosure agreements with government agencies, after Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin probed tech companies about secret deals with local officials.
2026.10.01
Reported2026.10.01
Amazon Web Services releases open-source decision model Strands Decider 2B[23]AWS发布开源决策模型Strands Decider 2Btechcrunch.com
Amazon Web Services has released Strands Decider 2B, an open source decision model inspired by TypeSafe's Jev, described as a high-speed, low-cost way to sort between pre-decided options and deliver a measure of confidence in its choice. The model is fully open sourced, available now, and small enough to run locally.

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