diff --git a/version.py b/version.py
index 1df8e0be99..3e05e83cb7 100755
--- a/version.py
+++ b/version.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 # To be updated every time we start a new major.minor version.
-major_minor = "1.8"
+major_minor = "1.9"
 
 # Default to 'dev' builds
 BUILD_TYPE = os.environ.get("BUILD_TYPE") or "dev"