It definitely was a tech company by that time’s standards.
Nowadays every company has an online store, but that was not the case when Amazon was selling books online that you usually had to go to a store for.
Much sooner than that.
Amazon started in 1995. Not a lot of ecommerce websites existed then. One the earlier ones is Powell's Books which started selling in 1993 via telnet, in 1994 via web.
How do you think Amazon infra gave birth to AWS? Does that sound to you like something a retail company would do?
edit: A very cursory check of the Wikipedia page and https://www.vox.com/2017/9/13/16288364/streampunks-book-exce... suggest that it probably isn't true that Netflix was "originally intended as a streaming company" considering at it's founding online streaming was still far from feasible, but I'm open to evidence to the contrary.
While streaming technology was early and teetering on the edge of viability, the real challenge was maneuvering the studios to license content that they didn't want to license because they wanted to retain absolute control. They were very averse to streaming for multiple reasons. The gambit of using DVDs in a series of Hobson's choices for the studios almost worked but ultimately failed at the late stages for an important reason that was difficult to bridge.
> We currently provide titles to our subscribers on DVD only. However, we continue to monitor additional delivery technologies and, when appropriate, believe that we are well-positioned to offer digital distribution and additional delivery options to our subscribers.
And further down, a bullet point in their growth strategy section:
> Implementing Digital Delivery. We continuously monitor the development of additional digital distribution technologies. Historically, new technologies, including the VCR and more recently the DVD player, have led to the creation of additional distribution channels for filmed entertainment. We intend to utilize our strong relationships with the studios to obtain rights to acquire and deliver filmed entertainment through emerging digital distribution platforms as they become economically, commercially and technologically viable for those subscribers who prefer digital distribution.
And later, regarding competition:
> We believe that our strategy of developing a large and growing subscriber base and our ability to personalize our library to each subscriber by leveraging our extensive database of user preferences positions us favorably to provide digital distribution of filmed entertainment as that market develops.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1065280/000101287002...
Streaming on the internet was already exploding by 1997; relatively speaking, of course. I distinctly remember first watching South Park, which debuted in 1997--myself and several other students, working in the computer lab technical assistance office for work-study, huddled around a Mac. This would have been circa 1998-1999, if not 1997. (In fact, I don't think I ever watched South Park on cable television until many years later, staying at hotels.) Around that time I also remember a major, well-funded streaming website that was supposed to revolutionize Indie film distribution. Anybody working in computing or the film industry knew where distribution was heading--the only question was when all the pieces would come together to make it viable. There were many ventures which dove in too early.
Nowadays I wouldn't consider anyone in the DVD-renting business to be a tech company. I would still consider Netflix a tech business under their current business model.
Note that Netflix is relatively small and not really in control of their fate; they were presumably included in the "FAANG" acronym to make it fun. Now that two of those companies have changed their name it doesn't even fit (A, A, A, M and...N? Not the other M?)
Well now we can say "MAAAAN it went downhill"
Netflix still rents DVDs.[1]
I actually much prefer their DVD service, because their selection of movies on DVD is infinitely superior to their streaming service, whose selection is absolutely atrocious.
Netflix's streaming service might have world-class delivery, but what they deliver is crap.
[1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/
At that time you would have to physically shop at Blockbuster to pick out a movie to watch.
With Netflix you picked what you wanted to watch online, maintained a queue and they would automatically send you DVDs through the mail.
It was absolutely a tech company since its inception.