Amazon

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational technology conglomerate founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5, 1994, in his Bellevue, Washington garage, originally named Cadabra before being renamed Amazon in November 1994, transforming from an online bookstore that sold $12,000 worth of books in its first week to becoming the world's largest e-commerce platform and cloud computing provider. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington since 1994 where Bezos chose the location for its technical talent from Microsoft and University of Washington, proximity to Roseburg, Oregon book distribution warehouses, and favorable tax conditions, Amazon has evolved into 'the everything store' offering e-commerce, cloud computing (AWS), digital streaming (Prime Video), artificial intelligence (Alexa), smart home devices, logistics, and consumer electronics including their comprehensive Echo smart speaker lineup powered by Alexa voice assistant. The company's audio product portfolio centers around the Echo ecosystem launched in 2014 that created the smart speaker category, featuring devices from the compact Echo Dot (5th generation with improved audio and vibrant sound for small spaces) to the premium Echo (4th generation with room-adapting premium sound and smart home hub capabilities), Echo Pop for bedrooms, and various Echo Show displays, all featuring Alexa voice control for streaming music from Amazon Music HD, Apple Music, Spotify, SiriusXM, smart home automation, voice calls, timers, weather updates, and multi-room audio synchronization. Led by current CEO Andy Jassy who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos in July 2021, Amazon operates globally with over 1.5 million employees, generating over $574 billion in revenue (2023), and maintains a vast social media presence including Instagram (@amazon with 6M followers, @insideamazon with 217K followers), Facebook (29M likes on main page), Twitter (3.6M followers), LinkedIn (19.1M followers), and YouTube (1.5M+ subscribers), representing one of the world's most valuable companies that pioneered online retail, cloud services, and voice-activated smart home technology. Amazon's Echo smart speakers feature built-in Zigbee and Matter device compatibility, microphone privacy controls, lossless HD audio support, voice-controlled smart home integration, and the ability to call other Echo devices or drop in on rooms, making them central to Amazon's strategy of embedding Alexa assistant technology throughout consumers' daily lives while competing with Google Assistant and Apple Siri in the voice AI market, all supported by Amazon's commitment to privacy with multiple security layers and electronic microphone disconnect buttons across their expanding ecosystem of intelligent audio devices.