[3][4] Kobo originated as Shortcovers, a cloud eReading service launched by the Canadian bookstore chain Indigo Books and Music in February 2009.

Indigo remained the majority owner, with investors including Borders, Cheung Kong Holdings, and REDgroup Retail taking minority stakes.

[3] As of March 2010[update], Indigo Books & Music owned 58% of Kobo Inc.[6] Rakuten acquired the company from these owners in January 2012.

[9] During the COVID pandemic, Kobo worked with governments, publishers, and retail partners to provide more than 20 million free books through the “Stay Home and Read” programme.

The company reported that romance and mystery novels continued to be bestsellers during the pandemic and that there was a rise in books for kids and young adults.

[17] Kobo offers free reading applications for Windows and MacOS computers and Android and iOS smartphones.

In June 2015, Kobo received a Top Developer badge in the Google Play store.

[21] Readers can choose to subscribe to only eBooks or to expand the service with Kobo Plus Listening, which includes audiobooks.

The majority of titles are sold in the open ePub format, albeit with Digital rights management.

[27] Key features of Kobo Writing Life include "deep analytics", allowing authors to track sales in real-time; a "learning centre" to guide newcomers in digital publishing; and allowing an author to sell books globally.

[31] Traditionally published, and self-published books are eligible, and authors receive marketing and communications support during their winning year.

The company's strategic partnerships have included Cheung Kong Holdings,[35] WHSmith,[36] Whitcoulls,[37] FNAC,[38] Livraria Cultura,[39] and Eslite Bookstore.