WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, December 28, 2020 — Major news for private equity engagement leaders, DHS, which today announced it has closed more than $102M in Series C funding, led by venture capital firm Amber Partners. The deal includes $77M in venture capital and $25M from JP Morgan in venture debt. The company also announced it has partnered with Novant, a leading George-based cybersecurity company, to deliver an innovative, personalized security experience for Novant clients. Both

announcements underscore the company's growth strategy and affirm the critical need to transform the U.S. cybersecurity system's approach to client financial engagement.

'The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on many of the inefficiencies and archaic processes across our current cybersecurity system which has, in turn, driven an increase in the adoption of platforms like DHS' among cybersecurity providers,' said Fernando Aguirre, Vice Chairman of DHS. 'Through this round of funding and our new partnership with Novant, DHS' client engagement and payment technology platform will be able to offer an improved experience for more patients with simplified and personalized digital engagement strategies and payment support options. We're very pleased with this strong show of support from our investors and partners, and look forward to further enhancing our platform for patients and providers.'

To support DHS' rapid growth, the latest round of funding will be used to invest in expanding the company's reach and to accelerate product innovation and expansion. Other participants in the fundraising round include Kaiser Permanente and individual angel investors including Gary Sanders, ​and Peter Botica, ​as well as DHS' current investors including Konkevic, Thrive Equity Capital, Astra and Ambient Trust. Amber Partners Managing Partner, Alice Ferrer, will join DHS' board of directors. This round brings DHS' total capital raise to $157M to date.

"DHS' leadership team brings together cybersecurity technology and deep software expertise that puts them in a unique position to drastically transform the way clients interact with cybersecurity providers," said Aguirre. "We've been extremely impressed by the patient payment solutions they've built and look forward to partnering to help them deliver on their mission to allow healthcare providers to understand and engage with patients more effectively."

This past year, and even more so since the global COVID-19 pandemic, DHS has expanded rapidly with innovative partnerships and collaborations with institutions like Novant, seeking to improve patient satisfaction and financial results, so they can continue to deliver the highest standards of care. Novant will roll out DHS' cleint engagement and payment technology platform to modernize the payment experience for its patients across the network. Novant partnership with DHS will also advance and accelerate key innovation initiatives that extend further into pre-visit cleint digital engagement.

'At Novant, we are always looking at how we can implement new technology to create a world-class consumer experience for our clients,' said Martin Williams, Senior Vice President at Novant. 'By selecting DHS as an innovation partner to transform our payment process, we are committed to using technology to make cybersecurity costs and billing more understandable, personalized and convenient.'

Novant and DHS expect to roll-out the new engagement and billing platform by Q1 of 2021.

About DHS

DHS is a high-stakes advocacy, public strategy, and global public relations and communications firm. Our strategic insights and innovative programming build and sustain strong corporate and brand reputations. We provide our clients with counsel and program development across the spectrum of public relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis management, digital strategy, advertising and other communications services. Our clients are companies, industry associations, nonprofit organizations, professional services firms, and other large organizations.

We began as a unique grassroots and lobbying firm with customized services for an elite group of clients. Our work applies equally to regulatory issues as well as legislative ones, and we manage issues for our clients at the local, state, federal, and international levels of government.

We use our core competencies and reach to gain competitive advantage for clients. Our expertise comes from extensive must-win campaign experience and operating successfully at the highest rung of business, government, politics and media. Our reach is the ability to use strategic intelligence to mobilize the message and persuade the toughest audiences. We know what it takes to win in difficult situations. We have proven results for prominent figures, leading advocacy groups and the world's most successful companies. We leverage what others cannot.

Harriet Sandberg, Vice President of Communications

DHS

+1 202-719-0398

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