NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast and parent of CNBC, has invested $500 million in Snapchat's parent company, Snap during its IPO as part of a strategic investment and partnership, said a report.

The investment is the latest in a series of aggressive bets in digital media by NBCUniversal under Steve Burke, its chief executive, reported CNBC.

He has made investments in digital media assets including $400 million in Buzzfeed and $200 million in Vox, it stated.

The company recently acquired SportsEngine, a digital business for youths involved in local team sports. It also bought Awesomeness TV, which has a big presence on YouTube as part of its deal for DreamWorks. In total, NBC has spent about $1.5 billion on digital assets in the past 18 months, said the CNBC report.

The stock allocation by Snap to NBCUniversal appears to be the only one made to a new strategic investor, which would make NBCUniversal the only US media company with a stake, it stated.

Other companies could buy shares in the open market.

For Snap, the investment by NBCUniversal represents an important vote of confidence from a major media company and may help to justify to other investors Snap's $28 billion valuation.

NBCUniversal agreed to hold the shares for at least a year, the report said.