Amazon started as an online bookstore in 1994 and has since become one of the largest companies in the world. Amazon owns a large portfolio of businesses, brands, and services spanning retail, cloud computing, healthcare, entertainment, and logistics. The team at SMB Compass put together this guide to help you understand the full scope of what does Amazon own today, how the company got here, and why its acquisition strategy matters.
A Brief History of Amazon
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 in Bellevue, Washington. It launched the following year as an online marketplace for books, selling its first title in July 1995. Within a few years, Amazon expanded into music, electronics, and general merchandise, earning its reputation as “The Everything Store.”
The company went public in 1997 at $18 per share, giving it a starting market capitalization of about $438 million. As of the end of 2025, Amazon’s total assets exceeded $818 billion, and the company operates across dozens of industries worldwide.
Amazon’s growth has been fueled by two strategies: relentless reinvestment into infrastructure and aggressive acquisitions. Many of the brands you use today, from Whole Foods to Ring to Twitch, are Amazon-owned companies.
How Amazon Uses Acquisitions to Expand
Rather than building every new business line from scratch, Amazon often buys established players in target industries. This approach lets the company enter new markets quickly, absorb talent and technology, and layer new services onto its existing distribution network.
A few patterns stand out across Amazon’s acquisition history:
- Vertical expansion into grocery, pharmacy, and healthcare
- Content and IP plays through studios, publishing, and streaming
- Logistics and automation to strengthen fulfillment and delivery
- Consumer technology to deepen its presence inside the home
Subsidiaries of Amazon
Here are some of the most recognizable Amazon subsidiaries:
- Amazon MGM Studios (formerly MGM Holdings)
- Whole Foods Market
- One Medical
- Zappos
- Ring
- Shopbop
- Twitch
- IMDb
- Goodreads
- Woot
- AbeBooks
- PillPack
- Audible
Amazon MGM Studios
One of Amazon’s highest-profile deals was for MGM Holdings, the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Amazon announced the deal in 2021 and closed it in March 2022 for $8.45 billion. The studio, founded in 1924, is home to the James Bond and Rocky franchises, as well as classics like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind.
The acquisition significantly expanded Amazon’s Prime Video content library and the intellectual property available to its streaming subscribers. The business now operates under the Amazon MGM Studios brand.
Whole Foods Market
Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion, marking its largest acquisition at the time. The organic food chain has grown to more than 600 locations, including continued expansion in the U.K. The original store opened in Austin, Texas in 1980 with a staff of 19.
The Whole Foods deal gave Amazon immediate entry into brick and mortar retailing and a meaningful foothold in grocery, a category where its earlier online-only efforts had struggled to scale.
One Medical
Amazon closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical in February 2023, giving the company a national network of primary care offices. Combined with Amazon Pharmacy (formerly PillPack), One Medical signals Amazon’s serious push into healthcare.
Twitch
In 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch for $970 million. The live-streaming platform launched in 2011 and primarily focuses on video games and esports broadcasts. Popular streamed titles include Fortnite, League of Legends, and Dota 2.
Ring
Amazon bought Ring in 2018 for $839 million. Ring builds Wi-Fi–connected doorbells and cameras, giving Amazon a strong position in home security and smart home devices.
Zappos
Amazon purchased Zappos in 2009 for $1.2 billion, marking its first billion-dollar deal. The online shoe and apparel retailer continues to operate as a relatively independent company under Amazon.
Kiva Systems (Amazon Robotics)
Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in 2012 for $775 million and rebranded the business as Amazon Robotics. The company builds automated storage and retrieval systems that power Amazon’s fulfillment centers, helping reduce costs and speed up order processing across its warehouses.
Amazon Acquisitions With the Highest Price Tags
Here are the largest deals in Amazon’s history, updated through 2025:
| Rank | Company | Year | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whole Foods Market | 2017 | $13.7 billion |
| 2 | MGM Holdings | Announced 2021, closed 2022 | $8.45 billion |
| 3 | One Medical | 2023 | $3.9 billion |
| 4 | Zappos | 2009 | $1.2 billion |
| 5 | Zoox | 2020 | $1.2 billion |
| 6 | Twitch Interactive | 2014 | $970 million |
| 7 | Ring | 2018 | $839 million |
| 8 | Kiva Systems | 2012 | $775 million |
| 9 | PillPack | 2018 | $753 million |
| 10 | Souq.com | 2017 | $580 million |
Amazon Subsidiaries, Brands, and Services
Amazon’s portfolio comprises acquired companies, proprietary brands, and in-house services and platforms. Here’s how it breaks down:
Acquired Subsidiaries
These are standalone companies Amazon purchased that continue to operate under their own brand:
- Amazon MGM Studios
- Whole Foods Market
- One Medical
- Twitch
- Zappos
- Ring
- PillPack (now Amazon Pharmacy)
- Audible
- Goodreads
- IMDb
- Shopbop
- Woot
- AbeBooks
- Box Office Mojo
- Wondery
- Annapurna Labs
- Eero
- Blink
- Zoox
Services and Platforms
These are products, services, and platforms built and operated by Amazon:
Retail and Membership
- Amazon Prime
- Amazon Marketplace
- Amazon Business
- Amazon Fresh
- Amazon Go
- Amazon Pay
Media and Content
- Prime Video
- Amazon Music
- Amazon Publishing
- Kindle Direct Publishing
- Kindle Store
- Amazon Appstore
Devices
- Kindle
- Fire TV
- Amazon Fire tablets
- Echo
- Alexa
- Astro
Healthcare
- Amazon Pharmacy
Cloud Computing (AWS)
- Amazon EC2
- Amazon S3
- AWS Lambda
- CloudFront
- DynamoDB
- Amazon RDS
- Amazon SageMaker
- Amazon Redshift
Logistics and Operations
- Amazon Robotics
- Amazon Prime Air
- Amazon Maritime
- Kuiper Systems
Proprietary Brands
Amazon also sells under a number of private-label brands, including 365 by Whole Foods Market, Amazon Basics, Amazon Essentials, Happy Belly, Pinzon, Presto!, Solimo, Wag, and Wickedly Prime.
Why This Matters for Business Owners
Amazon’s acquisition strategy is a useful case study in how established companies use capital to expand, even when organic growth slows. For small business owners, the takeaway isn’t that you need to buy other companies, but that deploying capital strategically, whether through working capital, a line of credit, or an SBA loan, can open doors that organic cash flow alone cannot.
If you’re running a profitable business and weighing your next move, understanding your funding options is the first step. SMB Compass works with established businesses to compare lending options and find the right fit for their growth plans.
