Summit Partners has hit the fundraising circuit with its 11th flagship growth strategy barely a year after it collected more than $2.2 billion across vehicles focused on European growth equity investments and venture capital deals.

The veteran growth-equity investor is targeting around $7 billion for its Summit Partners Growth Equity XI strategy, which is focused on backing North American companies, according to people familiar with the fundraising. The target was confirmed in a public pension document seen by WSJ Pro Private Equity.

If the firm reaches its fundraising goal, the new pool would be roughly 43% larger than its predecessor, which wrapped up with $4.9 billion in March 2019, including a $400 million commitment from the firm. The firm so far hasn’t indicated that an upper limit has been set for the new growth investment vehicle, one of the people said.

Last year, Summit completed raising its Summit Partners Europe Growth Equity Fund III with €1.1 billion, equivalent to about $1.29 billion, and its Summit Partners Venture Capital Fund V, with $1 billion.

Investor appetite for growth-equity funds remains high. As of Tuesday, 182 growth equity-focused funds had closed globally so far this year, amassing some $72.2 billion of capital, according to data provider Preqin Ltd. In all of last year, 262 growth-focused funds closed world-wide, collecting some $74.1 billion, the Preqin data show.

Growth deal making is also off to a strong start, Preqin said. As of Tuesday, 534 such deals had closed world-wide, with a total value of about $18.4 billion, compared with 654 transactions totaling $36.4 billion in all of last year, the data show.

Founded in 1984 and based in Boston, Summit was among the earliest private-equity firms to focus on growth investing. This strategy generally includes making non-control investments in fast-growing businesses.

Summit’s U.S. focused funds invest in sectors that include technology, healthcare and life sciences. The firm also backs businesses involving consumer products and services, financial and business services, energy, education and industrial technology, according to its website.

The firm generally commits $75 million to $300 million of equity per growth investment, according to a regulatory filing in March.

Over the years, the firm has added three new strategies, including European growth investments, private credit and public equities, often with a growth and sustainability focus, according to its website.

In the first half of this year, Summit invested $1.7 billion in 32 companies and its portfolio companies completed more than 50 acquisitions, according to a midyear update published by the firm. Summit also reported 11 strategic sales and public offerings, according to the report.

Recently slated exits include an agreement to sell early childhood education company Teaching Strategies LLC to KKR & Co. and a deal to sell cybersecurity company RiskIQ Inc. to Microsoft Corp.

In June, the firm led a $70 million investment in education software maker Smartest Edu Inc., which operates as Formative in Santa Monica, Calif. In May, Summit participated in a $320 million investment in marketing automation company Klaviyo Inc., which the firm initially backed in 2019.

The Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System committed $150 million to Summit’s latest growth fund, according to the pension system document. The system also invested $150 million in Summit’s previous flagship growth strategy, joining other public pensions such as the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, the Minnesota State Board of Investment and the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, according to WSJ Pro Private Equity data.

The predecessor growth pool produced a roughly 49.9% internal rate of return, according to documents from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which committed $300 million to the vehicle. The Pennsylvania pension system saw a net IRR of 39% from the strategy, the document shows.

As of Dec. 31, Summit Partners managed about $25.56 billion in client assets, according to a March regulatory filing.

Write to Preeti Singh at preeti.singh@wsj.com and Laura Cooper at laura.cooper@wsj.com