diff --git a/jupyter_server/_version.py b/jupyter_server/_version.py
index 9c3ae5f28..b5b33991e 100644
--- a/jupyter_server/_version.py
+++ b/jupyter_server/_version.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import re
 
 # Version string must appear intact for automatic versioning
-__version__ = "2.15.0"
+__version__ = "2.16.0.dev0"
 
 # Build up version_info tuple for backwards compatibility
 pattern = r"(?P<major>\d+).(?P<minor>\d+).(?P<patch>\d+)(?P<rest>.*)"