diff --git a/jina/__init__.py b/jina/__init__.py
index 4f9425c3cffc4..c52448d5cdfb2 100644
--- a/jina/__init__.py
+++ b/jina/__init__.py
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def _ignore_google_warnings():
 # do not change this line manually this is managed by git tag and updated on every release
 # NOTE: this represents the NEXT release version
 
-__version__ = '3.25.3'
+__version__ = '3.26.0'
 
 # do not change this line manually
 # this is managed by proto/build-proto.sh and updated on every execution