Storytel was founded in 2006 by Jonas Tellander and Jon Hauksson.[3] The company bought one of Sweden's largest book publishers, Norstedts förlag, in 2016.[4]
In 2016, Storytel acquired the Danish book service Mofibo.[5]
In 2017, Storytel acquired the Danish publisher People's Press.[6]
In 2018, Storytel purchased the Turkish audiobook service Seslenen Kitaplar, and Turkey became the 19th country in which Storytel services exist.[7]
In September 2019 it acquired Finland's oldest publishing house Gummerus.[8]
In July 2020 it acquired a 70 percent stake in Icelandic publishing house Forlagið.[9]
In January 2021 it surpassed 1.5 million paid subscribers.[10]
In November 2021, RBMedia announced that its property Audiobooks.com was being sold to Storytel for $135 million.[11][12] At the time of purchase, Audiobooks.com was used by about 17% of audiobook buyers, and the acquisition was seen as a way for Storytel to enter the large English-speaking marketplace.[11]
On February 18, 2022, co-founder and CEO from the beginning, Jonas Tellander, stepped down from his position for personal reasons; he is on the board of directors.[13]
In August 2022, Johannes Larcher, a former executive at HBO, was appointed as Storytel's new CEO.[14]
