Claim: Amazon Web Services, which offers a suite of cloud computing services that make up an on-demand computing platform, started in 2000 when Amazon.com  begins work on merchant.com, then in 2003, Benjamin Black and Chris Pinkham write a short paper describing a vision for Amazon infrastructure.
Evidence: The AWS platform was launched in July 2002. 
Amazon Web Services, Inc. March 2006; 14 years ago (2006-03)