[9] The Axa Group operates primarily in Western Europe, North America, the Indian Pacific region, and the Middle East, with a presence in Africa as well.

After acquiring the Drouot Group in 1982, chairman and CEO Claude Bébéar hired an outside consultant to conduct a computer-aided search for a new name.

Bébéar wanted a short and snappy name to convey vitality and could be pronounced the same way in every language, consistent with the group's desire for an international presence.

[14] Axa took over The Equitable in 1991[14] and bought Union des Assurances De Paris (UAP), France's largest insurer, in 1996 to become Axa-UAP.

[21] On 12 September 2018, Axa acquired XL Group Ltd., a Bermuda-based property and casualty commercial lines insurer and reinsurer, for $15.3 billion.

[23][24] In 2019, AXA partially disinvested from the Israeli arms group Elbit Systems following pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

[25] The move followed several years of campaigning by NGOs, including an April 2018 petition launched by SumOfUs that received 140,000 signatures, leading AXA to “quietly reduce” its investments in Elbit and Israeli banks.

[26] In February 2023, the company sold a 7.94% stake in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) to institutional investors.

[27] Axa Investment Managers acquired France's Bry-sur-Marne film studio and the 12 hectare plot of land on which it is located for €150m in June 2023.

The company bought the online insurer Swiftcover, notorious for its controversial Iggy Pop TV advertising campaign which was subsequently banned.

[31] In September 2013, Axa Wealth was fined £1.8 million by the FCA for failing to ensure it gave suitable investment advice to its customers.

In 2017, the subsidiary Axa - Global Healthcare became an independent Managing General Agent, selling and administering international health insurance products.

[41] In 2018, Axa - Global Healthcare launched a Virtual Doctor service for its customers with outpatient cover and in 2020 offered it across all plans.

[42] Provided by Teladoc Health, it offers anytime access to medical advice by phone or video by doctors located around the world who speak more than 15 languages and is targeted at expatriates.

[45] In August 2023, it was announced Axa had acquired the Little Island, Cork-headquartered health insurance company, Laya Healthcare for €650 million.

Axa then sued an ING Group subsidiary over alleged misrepresentations in the $1.5 billion sale stating it suffered "tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars in damages.

[62] In January 2016, Axa created Kamet Ventures, an insurtech incubator, to build disruptive businesses in the insurance, healthcare and assistance space with an initial funding of €100 million.