NBCUniversal made a strategic investment of $500 million in Snap Inc. as part of the Venice app maker’s initial public offering on Thursday.

Steve Burke, NBCUniversal’s chief executive, announced the investment in a memo to the company’s employees on Friday. By the end of Snap’s first day as a public company, NBCUniversal’s shares were worth $720 million.

“This is a significant milestone in our growing partnership with Snap, and we look forward to participating in Snap’s success as an investor and continuing to work closely with them for years to come,” Burke wrote in the memo. NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, has already partnered with Snap on the Rio Olympics in partnership with BuzzFeed.

Last summer, the entertainment company announced a deal to produce Snapchat content related to “The Voice,” “SNL,” E! News’ “The Rundown,” and other NBC programming. “We expect to launch even more Snapchat shows with additional NBCU brands in the coming weeks,” Burke wrote.

The Snap investment represents the latest move in in what Burke called “our strategy to drive digital growth for our business, both organically and through investments and acquisitions.”

In the last year, NBCUniversal has invested $400 million in BuzzFeed, and $200 million in Vox. The company also acquired SportsEngine, an online youth sports management platform.

NBCUniversal’s investment in Snap was first reported by CNBC.

Media and entertainment reporter Diane Haithman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @dhaithman for the latest in L.A. business news.