Five tech trends for investors to watch in 2014

Wearable devices gained some ground in 2013, but they will become more mainstream in 2014 and may even be adopted in the enterprise space.

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"The enterprise will leverage wearable technology in ways not being done in the consumer space," said Himanshu Sareen, CEO of Icreon Tech. "It is our prediction that the enterprise will embrace wearables for their employees specifically in industrial, high-tech and health-care settings."

 One way these devices might be used is in a manufacturing setting where there are a large number of employees on a factory floor. Wearable biometric monitors could be used to track employees' vitals while they are on the job to help protect against accidents.

Investors can also expect to see more of these devices used to track patients health, Sareen said.

On the consumer side, it's likely investors will also see Google's Glass become available to the mass market.

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Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have already had a big impact on how entrepreneurs raise funds for their small businesses, but a provision in the JOBS Act may take crowdfunding to new heights.

"Crowdfunding is going to be the new lottery," said Patrick Chung, a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. "Regardless of whether people actually make money, the first megahit to be crowdfunded will keep this lottery going for a decade or more."

The JOBS Act's Title III, whose rules haven't been finalized, basically would enable small companies to sell securities via online open platforms to both accredited and nonaccredited investors.

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"On the one hand, crowdfunding is going to to be very positive, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital easier and faster," Chung said. "On the other hand, in a world where money is becoming easy to come by, it also places a premium on investors who can actually help with the business."

In other words, while small companies will have more access to capital from a wider range of investors, experienced investors will have an edge because they can offer funds, experience and connections, he said.Local

Expect to see a lot more real-time information on the people and places around you as tech gets more local and more personal next year.

"The combination of location tracking, big data and wearables means that when those points of data are cross-referenced you can get updated live information on all of the places, items and people around you," said Michael Chasen, founder and CEO of SocialRadar.

There's already a lot of companies in this space, and that number will continue to grow, Chasen said. Foursquare is a big player in the local space and Twitter has recently been testing a "Nearby" feature that shows users who is tweeting nearby.

Apple is also trying to connect people with information around them in a real-time manner via use of iBeacon, which is basically a transmitter that tracks shoppers' locations while in stores in order to send push notifications about products within range.

Read more: Apple rolls out iBeacon, a GPS for inside retail stores