diff --git a/src/pip/__init__.py b/src/pip/__init__.py
index 9a8c59275a7..c35872ca9db 100644
--- a/src/pip/__init__.py
+++ b/src/pip/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from typing import List, Optional
 
-__version__ = "21.1"
+__version__ = "21.2.dev0"
 
 
 def main(args=None):