Acast, a digital audio and voice technology company, has passed the 100m monthly listens mark – doubling its number of listens year-on-year.

The Swedish startup offers a curated platform for podcasts, connecting listeners, creators, and advertisers. Its podcasts and digital audio content have been downloaded more than 1.5bn times globally since the company was founded in Stockholm four years ago.

The company accounts its period of strong growth in part down to its deal with the BBC. Acast has become the official commercial partner leading the monetisation of BBC podcasts and audio outside the UK. Other Acast partners include The Guardian, The Economist, FT, and Sky Sports, as well as independents like My Dad Wrote A Porno, The Adam Buxton Podcast, The High Low, and Griefcast.

“Audio is growing, the industry is attracting more and more diverse voices and we’re seeing people flocking to our platform to listen to them,” said Ross Adams, Acast CEO. “Our work with the BBC shows that as the audiences for audio on demand continue to increase rapidly, so does the demand for advertising alongside it, around the globe. As we expand our offering into new content forms including the at-home smart speaker world, we expect to only see this number continue to rise.”