diff --git a/kubespawner/_version.py b/kubespawner/_version.py
index 1d9d048d..6b23fd43 100644
--- a/kubespawner/_version.py
+++ b/kubespawner/_version.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # __version__ should be updated using tbump, based on configuration in
 # pyproject.toml, according to instructions in RELEASE.md.
 #
-__version__ = "6.2.1.dev"
+__version__ = "7.0.0b1"
 
 # version_info looks like (1, 2, 3, "dev") if __version__ is 1.2.3.dev
 version_info = tuple(int(p) if p.isdigit() else p for p in __version__.split("."))
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index d951dec0..dd090415 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ norecursedirs = "lib lib64"
 github_url = "https://github.com/jupyterhub/kubespawner"
 
 [tool.tbump.version]
-current = "6.2.1.dev"
+current = "7.0.0b1"
 regex = '''
     (?P<major>\d+)
     \.