Amazon owns more than a dozen major companies spanning grocery, healthcare, entertainment, home security, autonomous vehicles, and cloud computing. Some of these brands prominently carry the Amazon name, while others operate so independently that many customers don’t realize Amazon is behind them.
Grocery and Retail
Amazon’s largest acquisition to date is Whole Foods Market, purchased in 2017 for $13.7 billion. The deal gave Amazon a nationwide network of physical grocery stores and a foothold in the organic and premium food market. Whole Foods continues to operate under its own brand, though its prices, loyalty programs, and delivery options are now tightly integrated with Amazon Prime.
Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer, was acquired in 2009 for about $1.2 billion. It still runs as a distinct storefront with its own customer service team. Amazon also acquired Souq.com, the largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East, for $580 million in 2017, folding it into what is now Amazon.ae.
Entertainment and Streaming
Amazon bought MGM, the storied Hollywood studio behind franchises like James Bond and Rocky, in 2022 for $8.5 billion. The combined operation now runs as Amazon MGM Studios, which produces and distributes film and television content for Prime Video and the MGM+ premium cable channel. Under its umbrella sit several TV production divisions, including MGM Television, MGM Alternative, Big Fish Entertainment, and Evolution Media.
Prime Video itself is Amazon’s built-in streaming platform, offering original series, licensed content, and live sports. Twitch Interactive, the dominant live-streaming platform for gaming, was acquired in 2014 for $970 million. Twitch operates with its own community and creator ecosystem, though Amazon integrates it with Prime membership through free channel subscriptions. Amazon also acquired LOVEFiLM International, a European DVD-by-mail and streaming service, for $312 million in 2011, eventually absorbing it into Prime Video.
On the audio side, Amazon owns Audible, the leading audiobook and podcast platform, which it purchased in 2008. Audible maintains its own subscription model and app separate from Amazon’s main storefront.
Healthcare and Pharmacy
Amazon has been steadily building a healthcare business through acquisitions and new launches. PillPack, an online pharmacy that organizes and delivers medications in pre-sorted dose packets, was acquired in 2018 for roughly $750 million. Two years later, Amazon launched Amazon Pharmacy as a broader online pharmacy storefront.
The bigger move came in 2023 when Amazon bought One Medical for $3.9 billion. One Medical is a membership-based primary care provider with brick-and-mortar clinics across the country, giving Amazon a direct presence in in-person healthcare. Amazon now operates a reorganized health services division built around One Medical’s clinical care, pharmacy services, and network development.
Smart Home and Security
Three hardware brands give Amazon a major presence in the connected home. Ring, the video doorbell and home security company, was acquired in 2018 for about $1.2 billion. Ring now offers a full lineup of cameras, alarm systems, and neighborhood-watch features, all tied into the Alexa ecosystem.
Blink, a maker of affordable wireless security cameras, was acquired in 2017 and continues to sell cameras, floodlights, and accessories under its own brand. Eero, which Amazon bought in 2019, makes mesh Wi-Fi routers. Its latest models support Wi-Fi 7, and it serves as Amazon’s answer to home networking, often bundled or promoted alongside other Amazon devices.
Autonomous Vehicles
Zoox, a self-driving vehicle startup founded in 2014, became an independent subsidiary of Amazon in 2020 after an acquisition valued at roughly $1.2 billion. Unlike most autonomous vehicle companies that retrofit existing cars, Zoox is designing purpose-built ride-hailing vehicles from scratch with no steering wheel or pedals. The company continues to develop and test its technology while operating under its own leadership.
Cloud Computing and Chip Design
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is not an acquisition but rather a division Amazon built internally. It is the world’s largest cloud computing platform, providing server infrastructure, databases, machine learning tools, and storage to millions of businesses. AWS generates a significant share of Amazon’s overall profit and operates as a distinct business unit.
Supporting that hardware ecosystem is Annapurna Labs, an Israeli chip design company Amazon acquired in 2015 for $370 million. Annapurna’s engineers design the custom processors (Graviton for general computing, Trainium and Inferentia for AI workloads) that power AWS data centers, helping Amazon reduce its dependence on third-party chipmakers.
Other Notable Subsidiaries
A few other Amazon-owned companies round out the portfolio. IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, has been an Amazon property since 1998 and remains the go-to reference for film and TV credits. Goodreads, the social network for book readers, was acquired in 2013. Woot, a daily deals site, joined Amazon in 2010. And Amazon’s devices division, which builds the Echo smart speakers, Fire TV, Fire tablets, and Kindle e-readers, operates as a major internal hardware business even though it isn’t a separate company name consumers would recognize.
Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com and Soap.com, was acquired for $500 million in 2011, though Amazon later shut down those sites and folded their product categories into the main Amazon storefront.