Key Takeaways
Amazon’s name was chosen to evoke vastness and discovery, like the great South American river. Jeff Bezos built a company that reshaped global commerce, then stepped back to focus on space, media, and climate action. Andy Jassy now leads Amazon into a new phase centered on efficiency, cloud services, and artificial intelligence (AI). Meanwhile, Elon Musk owns X, the network once known as Twitter. And in living rooms everywhere, Echo devices are learning to listen, see, and respond with a new kind of intelligence.
Story & Details
How “Amazon” Became Amazon
At first, Jeff Bezos wanted to call his startup “Cadabra,” inspired by “abracadabra.” But when someone misheard it as “cadaver,” he looked for another name. He found inspiration in the Amazon River—a symbol of scale and exploration—and liked that it began with an “A,” giving it prominence in early web directories. That simple switch captured everything the company would become: vast, curious, and constantly flowing toward the next frontier.
Bezos After the CEO Era
Bezos’s second act is as restless as his first. As executive chair, he still shapes Amazon’s long-term vision, but his focus now drifts beyond retail. Blue Origin fuels his lifelong fascination with spaceflight. The Washington Post reflects his belief in the power of information. And the Bezos Earth Fund channels wealth into protecting the planet that made all of it possible. Together, these projects sketch a portrait of a man shifting from builder to caretaker.
The Bezos Earth Fund
Launched with a promise of $10 billion to be spent this decade, the Bezos Earth Fund supports ambitious climate and nature projects. Its grants range from restoring mangroves and forests to reshaping food systems and advancing clean energy. The fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Challenge is a sign of the times—using data and algorithms to predict, protect, and restore. It’s big, yes, but it’s also deliberate: meant to create tipping points where environmental progress becomes unstoppable.
The Platform Now Called X
When Elon Musk bought Twitter and rebranded it as X, he didn’t just change a logo—he reframed an entire digital space. The platform now sits under X Corp., with ambitions that go far beyond micro-messages. Musk’s ownership brought turbulence and transformation, echoing the boldness that defined his other ventures.
Andy Jassy’s Amazon
Andy Jassy inherited Amazon in full stride. Having built Amazon Web Services (AWS) from an internal experiment into a cornerstone of the internet, he was the natural successor. His tenure is quieter than Bezos’s but no less ambitious. He’s streamlined logistics after the pandemic boom, made tough cuts to refocus on profitability, and doubled down on AI—launching Amazon Bedrock, investing billions in Anthropic, and weaving machine learning deeper into every business unit. Health, advertising, and entertainment have become extensions of a single ecosystem built around data and trust.
Echo and the New Intelligence at Home
The latest Echo devices—equipped with AZ3 and AZ3 Pro chips—are more than smart speakers. They’re ambient companions. Alexa+, the new assistant, can hold a conversation, understand nuance, and act without waiting for the perfect command. Some processing now happens locally, keeping responses quick and private. The result is subtle but striking: technology that blends into the rhythm of a home rather than interrupting it. Sound becomes texture, light becomes signal. It’s smart, but it’s also calm.
Conclusions
From the jungle river that lent its name to the company, through rockets and newsrooms, to climate grants and home assistants, the story of Amazon and its founder is one of constant expansion. Bezos imagined a world connected by ideas; Jassy is wiring that world together with data and AI. And the same ambition that once sold books online is now teaching machines to listen, learn, and care about the planet that made it all possible.
Sources
Business Insider – “How Jeff Bezos Chose the Company’s Name”: https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-jeff-bezos-chose-company-name-2018-5
History of Information – “Amazon.com was very nearly called ‘Cadabra’”: https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=1080
Wikipedia – “History of Amazon”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Amazon
Bezos Earth Fund – official site: https://www.bezosearthfund.org/
World Wildlife Fund – $100 million nature-based climate solutions grant: https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/press-releases/wwf-receives-100-million-for-nature-based-climate-solutions-from-the-bezos-earth-fund/
AI for Climate and Nature – initiative hub: https://aiforclimateandnature.org/
Wikipedia – “Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquisition_of_Twitter_by_Elon_Musk
AWS – Amazon Bedrock overview: https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/
About Amazon – “Amazon Completes $4 Billion Anthropic Investment”: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-anthropic-ai-investment
About Amazon – “New Echo Devices and Alexa+”: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/amazon-new-echo-devices-alexa-plus
The Verge – “Early Echo Devices Won’t Get Alexa+”: https://www.theverge.com/news/620145/amazon-alexa-plus-no-early-echo-device-support
Reuters – “Amazon Refreshes Device Lineup with AI-Driven Alexa”: https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-refreshes-device-lineup-alexa-ai-home-security-2025-09-30/
YouTube – Why Is It Called Amazon? The Hidden Meaning Behind the Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0RCpsz2A4
Appendix
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon’s global cloud division that provides computing power and AI infrastructure to companies worldwide, including tools like Amazon Bedrock for building generative-AI applications.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Technology that creates new text, images, or sounds from learned patterns. In Amazon’s ecosystem, it powers Alexa+, AWS models, and projects like Bedrock.
Echo with Advanced AI
A line of speakers and displays built around custom AZ-series chips designed for faster, more private on-device intelligence and seamless control of connected homes.
X (formerly Twitter)
The social network owned by Elon Musk after acquiring Twitter, repositioned as a broader communications and finance platform under X Corp.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 