diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 25cce11e5..dc5205ac9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "matrix-js-sdk",
-    "version": "40.0.0",
+    "version": "40.1.0-rc.0",
     "description": "Matrix Client-Server SDK for Javascript",
     "engines": {
         "node": ">=22.0.0"