diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 3f67e25cea..c5b45eb7b1 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-3.17.0
+3.18.0
diff --git a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/helm-chart/kata-deploy/Chart.yaml b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/helm-chart/kata-deploy/Chart.yaml
index a782841133..4c2caa127a 100644
--- a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/helm-chart/kata-deploy/Chart.yaml
+++ b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/helm-chart/kata-deploy/Chart.yaml
@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ type: application
 # This is the chart version. This version number should be incremented each time you make changes
 # to the chart and its templates, including the app version.
 # Versions are expected to follow Semantic Versioning (https://semver.org/)
-version: "3.17.0"
+version: "3.18.0"
 
 # This is the version number of the application being deployed. This version number should be
 # incremented each time you make changes to the application. Versions are not expected to
 # follow Semantic Versioning. They should reflect the version the application is using.
 # It is recommended to use it with quotes.
-appVersion: "3.17.0"
+appVersion: "3.18.0"